Dream of the Moon (Tsuki no Yume)
by Orion-Sacred Arrow
Summary: Set in an AU. Bell Cranell's family was slaughtered when he was young, a result that was wrought upon by the defeat of the Behemoth at the hands of the Zeus Familia. However, after the Zeus familia was defeated by the one-eyed black dragon, Bell is instead adopted by the goddess Artemis, and he sets off to complete the three great quests! (BellxArtemis) Discontinued. Rewrite is up!
1. Prologue 1

**Disclaimer: I _definitely_ do not own Danmachi or any of the characters.**

**Hi guys, thanks for reading the prologue to my story. It's a little bit short, but I hope you will enjoy it.**

* * *

_Slash._

A massive scimitar cleaves a person in two, straight from the waist.

A golem like creature lets our a loud howl.

The top half of the dead person, lands near a small boy, a boy with white hair and red eyes.

"Bell… run…"

The person collapses, no longer able to move.

He coughs out one last spurt of blood, and all life seeps out of the body.

The boy screams.

Tendrils of earth shoot out of the ground and impales the golem-like creature, and blood spurts out of multiple wounds. The creature explodes in a cloud of dust, and a purple crystal falls out and hits the floor.

The red eyes of the child seems to glow red, but the glowing light fades, and the child collapses.

~A few hours later.

In the abandoned wreckage of a former village, adventurers move around, scouring what is remaining of the village in hope of finding of survivor.

Finally, one adventurer finds a white haired boy lying next to a dead body.

He places his hand on the boys chest, and slowly feels the chest beating.

"Mind down." The person slowly whispers to himself.

"Zeus-sama! I found a survivor!" At that sound, a person rushes over to come and look, and others come suite.

The boy slowly opens his eyes.

"Am I… Dreaming?" He manages to make out.

~3 years later.

"Icicle edge!" A massive icicle shoots out of the ground in front of a white haired adventurers feet and impales a monster, and the monster explodes into ash.

"Jeez, Bell, don't push yourself that hard." A brown haired elf said to the white haired boy, looking at the massive pile of magic stones that has gathered up.

"I won't, don't worry."

"Purgatory flame!" A spiral of black flames appears in front of Bell, incinerating more monsters to ashes.

Bell and his familia, the Artemis familia, were currently adventuring on the 48th floor.

"I am the heir of flames." A blue haired human chants, "Become my arrows, oh flames of hatred. Form together, and burn my enemies to ash! Flame Lance!"

A big cone of flames shoots out of her wand, incinerating many monsters.

"Good job, Arme!" A prum says, waving his sword and slicing down monsters.

The party of adventurers descends down the steps, reaching the 49th floor.

The adventurers hesitantly push open a door.

A humongous beast greets them the instant they open the door.

"It's here, Another human mutters, "Monster Rex of the 49th floor, Balor."

Bell raises his weapon, a glistening katana, and points it at the monster.

"Charge!"

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**AN: Hi guys, thanks for reading my fanfic. I haven't written a fanfic in a while, so apologies if there are some grammatical mistakes or spelling errors. If you like it, please leave a review about what you would like to see and what you liked about it! Thanks!**


	2. The Soul Stealers

The monster rex charges at the Artemis Familia, but they dodge out of the way, and they swing their swords and axes at Balor, but they bounce off with no effect. Bell flips around in midair and tries to slice through the armour as well, but to no avail.

"That's not going to work, huh." Bell stares at the thick armour of the monster rex.

"Wind Blade!" Invisible blades of wind shoot our of Bell's hand, piercing the armour and leaving a small indentation in it's armour..

The monster rex roars in rage, and swings his arm around, but the rest of the Artemis Familia jump out of the way, and nobody is hurt.

The swordsmen rush in, and use the opportunity to do as much damage as possible.

The mages prepare their next spells and get ready to cast them.

The monster rex raises its arm again and slams it against the ground, shaking it and sending shockwaves in all directions..

"Everyone, continue casting your spells!" Bell jumps in front and casts a protective spell, "Earth Wall!"

The mages launch their spells, and a barrage of earth, ice and fire magic is fired towards the monster rex.

A shield surrounds the monster rex, and the magic disperses as it hits the barrier.

"I guess it's not going to be that easy, huh." A mage mutters as he prepares his next spell.

"Earth Spikes!" Sharp tendrils of earth shoot out of the ground, and hit the monster rex's armour, leaving indentations in the armour.

"Heat!" Bell casts another simple spell, a wave of extremely hot air blasts the monster rex's armour, and molten metal trickles off.

"All right! It's been weakened!" Bell shouts, "Melee fighters, Charge!"

Various races of humanoids charge at the monster rex, brandishing a variety of weapons, such as spears, swords and axes.

They swing their weapons at the armour, and destroy it, damaging the boss monster of the 49th floor.

It howls in pain, and steps back, preparing for a charge.

"Everyone, Move out of the way!"

As the rest of the familia nimbly jumps out of the way, Bell stands in front of the Monster Rex, stock still, ready to receive its charge.

Ring!

A sound that is not unlike a bell fills the air. Light particles surround Bell's hand, and covers his katana, which he moves back and prepares to swing.

The monster rex, unaware of what is occurring in front of him, charges.

Right before the claws of the monster rex impales him, Bell swings.

With a flash of light, Bell seems to vanish.

Moments later, he appears in behind the monster rex, which has abruptly stopped its charge. A line appears down the torso of the monster rex, and it is cleaved in half.

The monster rex explodes in a cloud and leaves behind a big magic stone. It also leaves behind monster rex drop, which is part of the un-destroyed armour of what remains of Balor.

A supporter picks up both and puts them in their backpack.

"I think that's good for today, guys, Let's head back!" At Bell's proclamation, everyone cheers.

~2 hours later.

"We're back!" Bell pushes open the door to the Artemis Familia's mansion.

"Welcome home!" A blue haired goddess walks down from above, walking down the stairs to greet the returning members of her familia.

Individuals start leaving, putting away their heavy armour.

"Artemis-sama, I'm going over to Hephaestus to get them to put some repairs on Musashi."

Of course, Bell, being a huge fanatic of tales of heroes and legends, would name his sword after a famous hero.

"Okay. Wait, before you go…" Artemis reaches behind Bell and pokes his back, "Let me update your status."

Name: Bell Cranel

Familia: Artemis Familia

Level: 5

Stats:

Strength: SS 1670

Endurance: S 1485

Dexterity: S 1367

Agility: SS 1870

Magic: SSS 2170

Hunter: S

Immunity: S

Pummel: S

Healing Power: S

Magic: None.

Skills: Dreamer [Power of Imagination], Imminent [Need for Haste]. Argonaut [Desire to be a Hero]. Liaris Freese [Rapid Growth]. Abnormal Resistance. Mage. Escape. Luck.

"Congratulations, Bell." Artemis says, handing over the sheet of paper with all of Bell's stats over, "You're close to a level up."

"Thank you, Artemis-sama. I'm going to Babel now." Bell pulls his shirt on, picks up his sword, and leaves the mansion.

Bell leaves the Artemis Familia mansion and starts heading down the main street, on the way to Babel.

Bell walks for a while, then ducks into an alleyway.

Bell draws Musashi from its sheath, and points it towards the shadows.

"I know you're there. Come out."

"Well, Well, Well." A hooded person emerges from the shadows, "As expected of Orion."

Orion was Bell's title, which he had received when he turned level 5.

"What do you want with me?" Bell said, taking note of his opponents movements.

Hmm. His movements aren't that of a mage. A warrior, maybe? Bell thinks to himself as he observes the actions of the hooded enemy.

"Oh, that's simple." The hooded person replies, "Your soul."

"Oh, is that it? That's easy." Bell replies sarcastically, "Not a chance."

"Well then," The hooded person replies, "I'll just have to tear it from your body!"

The person draws a sword and charges.

Bell raises his katana, and blocks the first stroke.

He's fast!

Indeed, the person's movements were very fast.

Not as fast as Bell, but it was the equivalent of a first tier adventurer, definitely.

The enemy swings, and Bell leaps back, doing a flip in the air, before landing on his feet, where he quickly retaliates with a swing from the side.

"Ice shackles!" Icicles surround the person's feet, binding him into place.

"Gravity Barrier!" Bell casts another spell. The effects of gravity are amplified, and the enemy collapses on the ground.

Bell walks over and crouches.

"Now… If you'll tell me who you're working for…"

The person grins.

He reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a small black orb.

"Too bad, Orion…"

A magic item?

"Shit!" Bell cries out, and tries to cast a spell, but he is a fraction too late, and the person disappears.

"Damn it." Bell says, looking at where the person was a few seconds ago. All that is left is the black robe that the enemy was wearing.

Bell re-sheathes Musashi, and starts heading over to Babel, again.

"So? How did it go?" A hooded figure asks another hooded figure.

"I'm sorry, my lord." The person sinks onto his knees, "The mission was met with failure."

"It's fine." The "Lord" replies, "I didn't expect you to succeed anyway."

"My lord–––?"

"This is just the first part of the plan." The person picks up a chess board from who knows where and moves a pawn forward, "Let the game begin… Orion."

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**AN: Whoo! Two chapters in the first day. Alright, not bad. I do admit that the frequency of chapters will definitely slow down as time goes on, but I assure you that they will get longer. Think of the first few chapters as a warm up exercise. Anyway, for those of you who don't understand what on earth is going on with all his abilities, I'll be explaining them now. Dreamer is a kind of OP skill that you would expect out of a protagonist. It lets Bell literally cast any magic spell, as long as he can visualise (dream) the effects in his head. Imminent is another unique skill of Bell's that lets him turn any spell into a quick-chant spell. (Like Firebolt). Argonaut is Argonaut, and Liaris Freese is, well Liaris Freese. As for why he still has Liaris Freese, well, continue reading to find out!**

**As for replies to reviews, well…**

**AsulAgila3456u: Thanks for the review!**

**Wow, that was short.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, sorry for any grammatical errors (again), and hope to see you next time!**

**Edit: He's level 5 now. Added the development abilities. I gave him all of Bell's abilities, plus mage.**


	3. The 51st Floor

"Jesus, what did you do to your sword this time?" Tsubaki Collbrande, the head smith of the Hephaestus familia, grumbled as she repaired Musashi.

"Umm… Nothing out of ordinary, I guess." Bell replied as he scratched his head.

"And just what counts as normal to you?"

"Most things."

"That damage this weapon that much? Are you fucking crazy?"

"Borderline, I guess?"

"On the way here, what was that?" Bell muttered to himself, as he walked back to the Artemis Familia's mansion.

Instead of heading straight back to his room, Bell made his way to the training grounds.

The training grounds was a pretty simple place.

There were just a few straw dummies enhanced with automatic regeneration magic, which meant that no matter what happened to them, they would always regenerate in a matter of seconds.

Perfect for venting anger, or, well… for actually training.

Bell stood in front of one of the said training dummies.

"Fire storm!" Bell raised his blade and pointed it at the dummy.

A raging torrent of flames appears on the spot on torches the dummy.

"Ice shard!" A single. icicle pierces another.

"Shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!" A voice comes from a window somewhere.

"I'm so sorry!" Bell drops into a dogeza.

~The next morning.

The morning sun seeps through the curtains, illuminating the blankets that cover Bell's body.

Slowly, Bell gets up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He quickly gets out of his bed, and pulls on his normal clothes, proceeding to pick up his blade and head out of the mansion.

"Leaving already, are you?" A voice sounded from his right.

Rethusa, the level 5 vice-captain of the Artemis familia, stood in the shadows of one of the corridors, staring at Bell as he opened the door.

"How did you know?" Bell asked, turning around.

"Oh please, I've known you since you were a kid. I think I know you well enough." She replied back, staring at him with her red eyes.

"So, you aren't planning on berating me for being suicidal or something?"

"Of course not!"

Bell sighed, than made his way out of the mansion, on his way to the dungeon.

~On the 51st floor.

The dungeon wall cracked.

A gigantic red claw emerged, and another part of the wall.

"A Cadmus?" Bell said to himself, surprised.

Cadmus's had a reputation as one of the strongest monsters, exempting monster rex's.

Another claw emerged from another side of the wall, then another, then another.

"A mass spawning?"

Bell readied his katana.

The first Cadmus emerged.

"Lightning strike!"

A lightning bolt flew out of the tip of his blade and hit the Cadmus straight on the chest. It wavered for a second, but stood back up.

It opened it's mouth.

A glowing ball of fire shot out, heading towards Bell.

He quickly jumped out of the way, and the fireball hit the wall behind him.

Crack.

The wall behind him cracked.

A gigantic claw reached out and nearly grabbed Bell, but he quickly moved out of the way and tried to cut off the claw.

The blade bounced off, not even leaving a mark.

"An enhanced species?!" Bell nearly screamed out loud, but he quickly moved out of the way before another fireball hit him.

"Ice storm!" A hurricane of ice shards flew at the dragon, but again, they bounced off the hardened shell.

A claw smashed into the ground in front of him, sending a shower of sparks in every direction, a rock shot out of the ground and bounced off Bell's arm.

Glowing light engulfed Bell's blade.

Ring!

Light particles emerged from Bell's hand and covered the blade, from bottom to top, making it glow pure white.

Bell's silhouette flickered.

A moment later, he seemingly teleported behind the dragon.

The dragon's body was covered in glowing yellow marks.

Slashes from the blade.

The dragon exploded in a cloud of dust.

Chrono Warp.

Probably the most taxing piece of magic ever.

It has the ability to manipulate time.

Of course, stopping time would take so mana, it would kill anyone.

Within 10 seconds.

Of course, Bell didn't stop time.

He just slowed it down.

"Chrono Blade."

A dragon claw descended out of the sky.

Bell tensed his legs, but his legs wouldn't move.

The claw chopped off his left arm.

"Aaaaaagh!" Bell screamed.

"My mana…" Bell leaned against his swords.

A dragon tail whipped through the air and smacked Bell, sending him flying against the wall.

Bell groaned.

"Light beam!" Bell raised his hand.

A tiny flicker of light flew out of his palm.

"I'm out of… mana…" Bell's body froze.

Another dragon tail smacked into him.

A breath of fire cascaded over Bell's body.

"Matter… Conversion…" Bell muttered.

The remaining part of his arm dissolved.

His right eye dissolves, and a stream of blood leaks down.

A glowing yellow aura covered his body.

Bell sheathed his sword and stuck out his hand. "Let the holy arrow of light streak across the heavens. Oh sacred spear, I call upon you. Appear before me, Orion!"

A grey spear with a blue gem embedded in the spearhead appeared in Bell's hand.

Light particles came out from Bell's hand and covered the weapon.

Bell flipped the spear around. A glowing white aura flowed from the weapon and covered the rest of his body.

A drop of blood falls drips and falls onto the blue jewel.

"Sacred Arrow!"

Bell threw the spear as hard as he could.

It glows with yellow light, leaving a stream of destruction in its wake.

The Cadmus's seem to vanish in an instant.

The spear buries itself in the other side of the room, and dissolves into the air.

Bell collapsed on the ground.

Just before he collapsed, he saw a blond haired human, a blood haired prum, a green haired elf and two amazons.

"Loki… familia?"

~On the 50th floor, Loki Familia's encampment.

"Riveria, what's his condition?" A blond haired prum asked a green haired elf.

"His condition is relatively stable." Rivera replied, "But with his arm… and his right eye… It's confusing."

"Why?" Finn replied back.

"It's not a normal injury. Its like… his arm melted away. It's completely… gone. I'm not sure if it's healable. He might never be able to use it again."

"I see."

~2 hours later.

"Huh? Where am I?" Bell awoke.

"You're at the Loki familia's encampment." A green haired elf replied back to him.

"Nine hell… Rivera Ljos Alf." Bell mutters to himself, then says out loud, "Why am I here?"

"We found you collapsed on the dungeon floor, on the 51st floor during our expedition."

"Oh… I see…" Bell replied, "Thanks, I guess."

Just then, a high pitched scream cut through the air.

"That… came from the pathway that leads to the 51st level." Bell said, getting up.

"Wait. You stay here. Your body is too heavily damaged for you to fight." Rivera said, pushing him down and heading out of the tent.

Bell tried to get back up, but he fell down again.

"Damm it… Why am I... so... weak...?"

* * *

**AN: Well, that's another chapter.**

**Anyway, sorry this is short, but this is just half of the chapter, and the other half should be coming out quite soon. Now that that's out of the way, please allow me to reply to some reviews.**

**JauneArc354: BellxArtemis all the way! Whoo...**

**Shin Hyo Joon: Thanks! I will try my best to keep on updating it regularly.**

**Dereturd: Well, Bell's type of character in this story would be slightly different of that in the main story. In here, he's somewhat like a mixture of the old Aiz and the main story Bell, so I hope no one minds if he acts a but differently. Also, I've come to terms with how drastically short my chapters are, and I'll improve the lengths as they go on. This was actually supposed to be the first half of one chapter, but I decided to split it instead.**

**Guest: Thanks...? I will try to get more in depth about the power of the Artemis familia, but they are quiet powerful. (Think Freya familia but everyone's one level lower.)**

**Maxasmata123456: Thanks! I don't know spanish, so I just google translated it, but still, thanks.**

**Well, that's it. Hope to see everyone next time!**

**Thanks!**


	4. Demi Spirit

"Look out!" Someone screamed.

A spray of brilliant purple acid shot out of a monster's mouth.

The adventurers quickly leaped out of the way.

_Slash._

A golden double-edged weapon sliced through one of the monsters.

"Don't…"

"What?"

The weapon had melted.

"Watch out!"

The person quickly jumped out of the way.

"My Urgaaaaaaaa!" Tiona Hiryute, a level 5 adventurer cried out as her precious weapon melted.

"Get away from those things!"

"Move!"

"Huh, wait a second… That monster is attacking black rhinos's?" Tiona yelled out.

"Those monsters attack anything that moves, adventurers like us or other monsters, without hesitation."

"Does that mean they're not picky?"

"Hmm, I wonder. They don't appear to have standards, but… I have a feeling that they prefer other monsters."

Finn glanced over his shoulder and gave his opinion.

"A cannibal, of all things. Very fitting for a monster…"

"Could've come up from a deeper level, or the dungeon spat our a new breed of monster… I'm not wild about either of those." Gareth gave his own opinion on the origin of the monsters.

"Finn, can they be beaten?" Aiz asked/

"Physical attacks inflicted damage. However, we lose a weapon for each hit, just like what happened to Tiona. We can't fight like this." Finn replied, "Facing a swarm of them would be near impossible. Now, Magic, on the other hand… It might be difficult under these conditions, but if we can buy enough time for an incantation, a blast of powerful magic could wipe them out…"

Everyone in the group immediately turned to Lefiya Viridis, the level 3 mage.

"Huh? Whaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Company arriving from the front!"

Pale green bodies could be seen at the other end of the hallway.

"Everyone, turn right into that hall, now!"

Adventurers, in a single file line, rushed through the hall.

"My thumb is tingling. They're coming."

Cracks appeared on the walls.

Monsters started emerging.

A monster party.

"Bete, Gareth, Tiona! Protect those two at the back, and take down as many as you can! Aiz and I will face the new breed. Attack!"

Finn shouted out his commands.

"Lefiya, stay behind us and start your spell. You are vital to this battle, so hurry."

"Yes, sir!"

"Proud warriors, marksmen of the forest. Take up your bows to face the marauders. Answer the call of your kin and nock your arrows. Bring forth the flame, torches of the forest, Release them, flaming arrows of the fairies." A magic circle appeared at Lefiya's feet, glowing stronger with each syllable of her spell, "Fall like rain, burn the savages to ash."

Lefiya took in a deep breath.

"Fusillade Fallarica!"

Countless flaming streaks rained down on the monsters.

The pierced through the monsters, burning them all to ash.

"Good job, Lefiya!"

People started congratulating her.

"General? What's wrong?" Realizing that something had happened, Tione approached a silent Finn, carefully avoiding the glowing sparks on the floor.

"Before we escaped this room… we were in a hallway that connects directly to the fiftieth floor. Since the monsters came at us from the front…"

"Oh no."

"Gather the others. We're returning to camp at full speed."

"The camp…!" Tiona said in disbelief as the group made their way through the ash-covered forest.

"Riveria? Everyone?!"

"Archers, loose!" At Riveria's command, every archer leaned over the crest of the hill and shot their arrows straight down at the oncoming monsters. The arrows that hit instantly dissolved in the liquid that spewed forth from their wounds, but the impacts made the creatures lose their grip on the rocks and fall onto the other monsters below that were also climbing up.

"Harbinger of the end, white snow. Gust before the twilight. Fading light, freezing land. Blow with the power of the third harsh winter. My name is Alf! Wynn Fimbulvetr!"

Waves of magical power stormed down over the plains.

Various types of offensive magic mercilessly carved up anything in their way.

The monsters were blown to pieces or burned into nothingness. Explosions filled the land as the magical power reached its zenith.

"How'd you like that!" "Did you see?!" The voices of young mages came as they watched the devastation unfold below.

"To think protecting the camps would be so dangerous…" Rivera muttered to herself under her breath.

"All done!"

Aiz's sword pierced the remaining survivor. Only the adventurers were still moving on the devastated plains.

Aiz glanced back at the rocky hill before surveying the area one last time. She was about to turn away.

That's when it appeared.

The thing announced its presence,

It advanced through the ash forest, breaking tree after tree, The echoes were still far away but getting louder.

"Is that a person…?"

The creature was at least six meters tall. What's more, it was at least twice as big as the largest of the monsters they had been fighting against.

Its body was pale yellowish-green with long, flat arm flaps, most of its body was the same shape as the caterpillar monsters, except there was one big difference.

The caterpillar-like lower body was no different from the other monsters that they had just fought.

However, instead of a lump of flesh on the front end, there was a distinctly human torso and head leading the charge.

Four arms, two on each side, the shape resembling the bodies of stingrays or perhaps folding fans. They seemed to have no thickness at all and seemed to glide through the air as it moved.

"If we slew something that big…"

–An unfathomable amount of purple acid would flood the area.

Gareth adjusted his helmet, beady eyes looking out from deep within. "For that big one, I reckon we'll need to hit its magic stone nice and clean."

The beast completely emerged from the forest and came to a stop a good distance from the adventurers.

The female monster made the first move.

Specks of multi-colored light filled the air.

A moment later, millions of tiny explosions went off at once.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

Lefiya felt the heat of the blast on her face as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Every blade of grass, every pile of ash, every remaining monster corpse went up in flames in an instant.

"All groups, full retreat." Finn gave an order, "Get back to camp, tell the others to take the bare minimum and get out of here."

"C'mon, Finn! Are you serious?!"

"Are we just going to ignore that thing?!"

"I don't like this any more than you do, but we need to slay it and do damage control at the same time. Easier said than done, I know."

"Aiz, take it down."

The prum squared his shoulders to her and added, "Alone."

"Think this over, sir!" Lefiya's voice shrieked before anyone else could respond.

Tiona and the others were about to argue as well when suddenly there was an explosion.

The monster had released another cloud.

"Wind torrent!" A gust of wind blasted the cloud back at the monster. It exploded, covering the monster with wounds.

"Please let me help."

A voice sounded from Finn's right.

Heads turned to look at a white-haired boy that was standing next to Finn.

"You saved my life, after all. I might as well do something to repay you guys."

Finn paused for a moment.

"Fine."

The monster released a huge stream of acid at them.

The purple liquid shot at them at an extremely high speed.

"Air barrier!" The air around Bell started rotating at a high speed, sending all the acid that was flying at them towards the dungeon walls.

"Halo of light!" A glowing yellow and white ring appeared in the air, floating above Bell's right hand.

Bell threw it, and the light ring flew at the monster.

It cut through the vines that sprouted up in front of the monster to shield it but was blocked off by the monster's magic attack.

In those seconds, Bell closed the distance between him and the monster and cut off one of his fins.

The monster roared and released another spray of explosives.

Bell drew his sword.

Green wind coated the thin, narrow blade of the katana.

Blue and white light particles covered the blade.

"Chrono blad

In a moment, the monster's fins fell off.

The monster howled.

The sound reverberated across the entire floor, and monsters and adventurers alike panicked and started to flee.

Bell released his spell.

His legs crumbled beneath him, and he fell onto the ground, leaning on his sword.

"Awaken, Tempest."

Green wind surrounded Aiz.

"They've evacuated." Bell said to her from behind her.

She nodded.

And charged.

"Chrono… warp." Bell casted another spell.

The monster's movements slowed to a fraction of what it was.

"Go..." Bell said to her, but she was too far away to hear.

The blade flew across the body of the monster, leaving wounds over its entire body.

"Damn…"

The spell broke.

The monster smacked Aiz with one of its regrown fins.

She went flying into a wall.

"Fuck."

Bell stood back up.

He raised his sword with his arm and charged at the monster.

When he had nearly reached it, he took a running jump up and cast a spell.

"Creation!"

Golden light rose from the ground.

From the plants, the trees, and the ground itself.

It flowed freely towards what remained of Bell's left arm and his right eye.

Slowly, it molded itself into the shape of an arm and an eye.

He raised his left hand and casted a spell.

"Fire Shot!"

A fast fireball flew out of Bell's newly regrown left hand and shot at the caterpillar monster.

The monster quickly moved its fins to block the shot.

"Bonfire blade!"

Blue flames covered the sword.

"Take this!"

He slammed the sword against the fins as hard as he could.

The flames burnt through the fins and left a burning mark across the body of the gigantic caterpillar monster.

Bell landed, then twisted around and left another gigantic slash across the monster.

The monster wailed out loud.

Bell landed calmly and faced the monster.

"Let's end this."

His red eyes seemed to glow.

* * *

**AN: Sorry this was pretty much mainly the first part of the first volume of Sword Oratoria.**

**But now, let's get onto the reviews:**

**Shin Hyo Joon: I guess it would be sort of a self-depreciating comment. Bell just keeps on wanting to get stronger (Liaris Freese) so no matter what, he is always "weak" to himself, I guess.**

**But yes, as I once heard:**

**Everything is either a potato or not a potato.**

**MidNightSon41: Neither. Bell (at least currently) only has one goal, but as for that, keep on reading to find out!**

**Guest 1: I fixed that. Thanks. (He's level 5).**

**Guest 2: I fixed that as well. He has every development skill he has in the light novel, plus mage.**

**Guest 3: Thanks!**

**Justin D: Well, I think this chapter answered your question!**

**Kb27: Personally, I think Aiz when she was young was probably this suicidal. After all, it says somewhere that "she kept throwing herself into battle repeatedly, even if she was injured or her weapon was blunt." Or something like that. She just didn't have matter conversion. I'm probably gonna make it Artemis only.**

**Thanks for reading! See you next time and please leave a review!**

**And again, sorry for any grammatical mistakes.**

**This is part 2 of this "arc". Part 3 will come out soon!**

**Thanks so much!**


	5. The Dungeon Screams

The monster lashed out with its fins, but Bell quickly moved out of the way to dodge it.

As Bell watched, the wounds on the monster's body healed.

"Regeneration, huh?" Bell muttered to himself, "Guess I'll have to end it all in one go."

Then shouting out, he said, "Sword Princess! Can you stall for as long as you possibly can? Preferably a minute or longer."

"Awaken, Tempest." Aiz casted her signature spell, Aeriel.

Green wind covered her body and sword, and she charged at the monster.

She darted around it, leaving blade marks over its entire body.

The monster howled in rage and whipped its tentacle-like body parts around, trying to hit her, but she quickly moved out of the way and severed the tentacles.

The monster let out another cloud of explosives.

"1… 2… 3." Aiz quickly lept out of the way, muttering to herself under her breath.

In that instant, the spores exploded.

At the very same time, Aiz charged through the dust that had been released from the explosion, and ran straight towards the monster.

"Lil Rafaga!" She shouted out the name of her attack as her blade sliced straight through the monster's body, right through the protective armor of its fins.

An explosion filled the air.

"Did that… do it?" Aiz muttered to herself.

At that moment, Bell realised something.

Although the monster was dead, it left behind nothing.

No acid, nothing.

"Get out of the way!" Bell screamed, his instincts taking over him.

Aiz quickly jumped out of the way.

Moments later, a gigantic tentacle smashed into the ground, where she just was.

The dust cleared away.

Facing them was the same monster, but with a difference.

It was at least 5 times larger than it was before.

"It… evolved?" Both Bell and Aiz muttered in confusion.

"Move!" Bell screamed, snapping Aiz out of her thoughts.

She quickly jumped out of the way again.

The gigantic monster let out another roar.

Trees were blown away. The ground was razed.

But Bell charged forward, straight into the shockwave.

_Gong._

A sound not unlike the sound of a grand bell rang out in the air.

Indeed, it was Bell's Argonaut.

However, this time, it had been charged to its upper limit.

5 minutes.

Bell continued charging at the monster as the light engulfed his entire body.

"Lightning. Wind. Earth. Fire. Water. Nature. Darkness." As Bell spoke, a myriad of colours appeared on his blade.

It seemed to glow with power.

Bell took one more step forward.

"Light."

His blade now seemed to glow as bright as the sun, blinding anyone who looked at it.

He pulled it back, and got ready to swing.

"Chrono Warp."

Time slowed down.

The monster's movements became extremely sluggish as it attempted to escape the wave of destruction that was coming its way.

"Elemental Wrath!"

Bell shouted out the name of his new move.

Bell swung his blade, and a translucent arc shot out, shining with a blinding light.

The arc passed straight through the monster's body…

And exploded, against the dungeon wall.

Moments later, the light faded.

The monster's body had been completely burned to ashes.

"Checkmate." Bell quietly said to himself, glancing at the glowing ashes that were all that remained of the monster.

Beside him, Aiz stared at him and the monster, her gaze rapidly flickering between the two the way only a first-class adventurer could do.

_Is he really… a level 5 like me? How is he so strong?_ Aiz thought to herself, glancing at Bell once again.

"I guess that's finished, huh?" Bell quietly said to himself, also gazing upon the ashes of the monster.

Suddenly, a howl fills the air.

The dungeon walls crack.

"A monster?…No. That can't be." Bell said to himself, "The only monster of that size would be a monster rex…"

The next moment, the dungeon wall seems to shatter.

From the inside, a gigantic creature emerges.

It looked like a gigantic spider, but all that was there were bones, as if the flesh had melted off its body.

A skull took the place of the head, and a long, bony tail stretched out behind it.

The monster responsible for the destruction of the Astarea Familia.

_Juggernaut._

_The destroyer._

~Underground, Beneath the Guild

"!"

Ouranos rose from his throne.

"Ouranos, what's wrong?"

He was in the chamber of prayers beneath the guild, a stone room reminiscent of a temple.

Four torches set on the altar of the underground room threw off a red glow. Standing in the centre of the shadowy space, the god widened his blue eyes.

Even via the oculus, Fels sensed the gravity of a situation that prompted the ages deity to rise from his chair.

Under ordinary circumstances, he scarcely moved.

For Ouranos, time stood still. He spoke gravely.

"That thing has come out…"

"Thing? What are you referring to? What are you saying, Ouranos?"

Fels's voice rose in panic in response to the god's strange behaviour.

Ouranos gazed through narrowed eyes toward the underground world spread beneath his feet as he spoke into the crystal ball.

"The monster that decimated Astrea Familia five years ago…"

"…?!"

Ouranos continued to speak solemnly to the dumbstruck Fels.

"The calamity has begun again."

~The Hostess of Fertility.

_Crash._

A plate fell from the hands of an elven girl and hit the ground.

"Ryuu? What's wrong?" A silver haired girl asked a panicked looking elf.

"I don't know… but I can feel a menacing presence coming from the dungeon…"

"It's fast!" Bell said to himself as he observed the movements of the Juggernaut.

Bell swung his sword, the blade clashing with the spiny tail of the Juggernaut.

Sparks went flying.

"Lightning!" Bell shouted.

A bolt of lightning shot out of his blade, flying towards the Juggernaut.

A purple cloak enshrouded the Juggernaut, and the lightning bolt bounced off, hitting Bell on the chest.

"A magic barrier?"

Aiz charged forward, striking the Juggernaut with her sword, Desperate.

It leapt back quickly, and slashed with its claws, about to cut Aiz in half.

_Clang._

The Juggernaut's claws were stopped by Bell's sword.

"Lightning!"

Electricity from Bell's blade flowed through the metal and hit the Juggernaut.

It howled.

It's spiny tail swung around, sending Bell flying into the dungeon wall.

Bell was only saved by the fact that his sword had clashed with the tail, blocking most of the impact.

However, his blade went flying away, and landed on the ground next to the Juggernaut.

"Awaken, Tempest."

Aiz charged at the Juggernaut as well, her blade flashing with a brilliant light.

At that moment, Bell also charged at the Juggernaut.

"Tempest." Green wind covered Bell, and he sped towards the Juggernaut with renewed speed.

Aiz stared at him in shock

_…How?_

That moment was all that the Juggernaut needed to swing its tail around again and hit Aiz on the side.

She went flying into the dungeon walls.

"Magnet!" Bell's sword rose out of the ground and flew into Bell's hand.

"Now… I think I got this right…" Bell muttered to himself as he jumped towards the Juggernaut.

The tip of his blade become the sharp point, the arrow of his wind.

"Lil Rafaga!"

Bell's wind coated sword pierced the Juggernaut's body, straight through the chest.

"That should have pierced its magic stone…"

Bell pulled out his blade.

The Juggernaut roared at him, and swung one of its claws around.

Stabbing Bell straight through the heart.

"Urgh!" Blood gushed out of Bell's mouth.

The Juggernaut withdrew its claws and smacked him with its tail, sending him flying into the wall.

It scattered towards Bell's limp body, rearing its sharp sharp fangs.

_Clang!_

Just before the fangs were about to cut Bell in half, a sword blocked the fang.

The sword princess, Aiz Wallenstein, stood in front of him, blocking the forthcoming fang.

The Juggernaut hit her with its other claw and sent her flying, then proceeding to raise its fangs above Bell.

_This is just like last time._

Bell thought to himself.

_5 years ago…_

_When my familia died._

_They died trying to protect me, didn't they?_

_Because I was too weak to help them?_

_Because I was to scared, to frightened, of that demon?_

_Why._

_Why does everyone have to get hurt protecting me?_

_WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO WEAK?!_

The Juggernaut's fangs bored down upon Bell's tattered body.

The Juggernaut seemed to lick it's own nonexistent lips with satisfaction, knowing that disease that had harmed its mother would now be destroyed.

But the fang was stopped.

By Bell's hand.

"Don"t… Fuck… Around…With…Me!" Bell snapped the fang in half.

A pitch black aura covered his body.

"NO WAY IN HELL AM I PLANNING ON DYING BEFORE I KILL THAT STUPID MOTHERFUCKER!" Bell screamed, stretching out his other hand.

The Juggernaut leapt away.

"Let the holy arrow of light streak across the heavens."

Bell smiled at the Juggernaut.

"Oh sacred spear, I call upon you."

The Juggernaut, sensing danger, prepared to back away.

"Appear before me… Orion."

A grey spear appeared in Bell's hand.

"AND I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU." Bell said, still smiling, "BECAUSE COMPARED TO THAT FUCKING BLACK DRAGON, YOU LOOK LIKE A LOST PUPPY!"

Bell threw the spear at the Juggernaut.

It clashed with the purple shield that covered the Juggernaut's body, but within moments, tore threw the shield and hit the Juggernaut's body, causing it to explode into dust.

The spear hit the ground, and it too, dissolved into dust.

Bell collapsed onto the ground.

Aiz looked at Bell's tattered body.

Her face was filled with shock.

"The Black…Dragon?"

~5 hours later, on the surface. (Artemis Familia's mansion)

"Thank you for bringing Bell back."

A blue haired goddess and a girl with reddish brown hair thanked the leader of the Loki familia, Finn Devine.

On a hospital bed laid a white haired boy.

"No problem. He did save us as well, after all. And it's the Loki familia's policy to always repay debts." Finn glanced back at the Loki familia's members, "Though some of us aren't doing the greatest in keeping that up."

He stared at two main members of the Familia.

Aiz Wallenstein and Tiona Hiryute.

Tiona looked away, embarrassed, while Aiz continued looking forward passively.

After the Loki familia left, Artemis and Rethusa were left, staring at Bell's body.

"Artemis-sama, look." Rethusa pointed at Bell's left arm.

"Yes?" Artemis looked at the arm and froze, "Oh god."

"Yeah. Why would he go as far as using that technique?" Rethusa stared at his arm, "Also…What happened to his right hand?"

Artemis stared at his right hand and fell silent.

_Is this why you chose him, Zeus?_

~18 hours later.

Bell woke up.

He sat up and quickly looked around.

"Bell! You're awake!"

Bell turned around.

"Artemis-sama? What are you doing here?" Bell asked.

"I was watching over you. The Loki familia brought you back here yesterday, half-dead."

"Loki familia?…oh right." Bell muttered to himself.

"Bell." Artemis said solemnly, "Will you come with me for a moment?"

"Sure, but why?"

"I need to check you status."

_Prick._

Artemis poked her finger with a small needle, and let the blood drip onto Bell's back.

Name: Bell Cranel

Familia: Artemis Familia

Level: 6

Stats:

Strength: I 0

Endurance: I 0

Dexterity: I 0

Agility: I 0

Magic: I 0

Hunter: I

Immunity: I

Pummel: I

Healing Power: I

Magic:

Sacred Arrow.

Skills:

Dreamer:

\- Can cast any spell, as long as the effects can be visualised.

Imminent:

\- No chant is needed to cast a spell, in exchange for more mana usage.

Argonaut:

\- Can charge up to 6 minutes. Used to power either a physical or magical attack of any sort.

Liaris Freese

\- Rapid growth.

\- Lasts as long as emotions do.

Black Hatred:

\- Gets powered up when there is hatred directed at the one-eyed black dragon. Effects will vary depending on level of hatred.

Lost Time:

\- Gets powered up when reminded of the Zeus familia.

"I knew it." Artemis muttered to herself.

"Did something happen?" Bell asked.

"Yeah. Congratulations, Bell. You've levelled up."

"One last word, Bell." Artemis spoke as Bell was about to leave the room.

"Yes?"

"Do you know that magic spell of yours? The one that called Sacred Arrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Never use that again."

"Huh? Why?" "Using that weapon has a drastic toll on your body. You've already used it twice, and I fear what might happen if you use it again. Worst possibility, the power will eat you from the inside, and you'll die. Or become something much, much worse."

"All right." Bell sighed, "I understand."

After Bell left, Artemis stares at the wall.

_Answer me, Zeus._

_Why can Bell use my Arcanum?_

* * *

**AN: Whoo! I think that's my longest chapter so far. There are supposed to be some line breaks, but I think for some reason it won't work. Anyway, it might looked a bit crammed together, but I hope you guys can make do. Now that I think about it, isn't it kind of weird how the Juggernaut butchered Astarea familia but was beaten (practically) single-handedly by Bell? After all, there were 8 level 4's in Astarea Familia. Bell is just one. But Argo Vesta is kind of OP, and Bell is probably(?) stronger than the average level 4. Anyway, the Juggernaut is slightly stronger then it is when Bell fights it, (I think), but my reasoning behind that would be because it spawned on a higher level floor. Not for any other reasons. Definitely. (Winks). I changed the layout of the status display, so it's slightly different, but I hope you guys don't mind. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and see you next time!**


	6. The Tyrant of the Land

~Artemis Familia's Mansion (Moonlit Palace)

"Alright! We're heading out for another hunting expedition today." Artemis announced.

The members of the familia cheered.

"Are there any material orders or anything?" Bell asked, "Or can I just burn them all to ash?"

A red glint filled his eyes.

Various members of the familia shuffled away.

"It's fine, you do whatever you want."

"So, when are we heading out?"

"In an hour or so. Everybody, go prep your equipment!"

The familia dissipated, heading to the armoury.

"Bell, one word."

"Yes?"

"I've been hearing things about how there have been sightings of rarely seen monsters, golems, direwolves, things of that sort."

"So?"

"Just… don't do anything rash, okay?"

"I understand."

~An hour later, outside Orario's walls.

"Okay. Today, we're going to split into 3 groups. I'll lead one, Rethusa will take the second and Artemis-sama will lead the third. Everybody, good hunting!"

At the end of his words, the familia split into three groups and headed in their respective directions.

"Burn." Bell said, raising his hands. A spiral of flame shot out of the ground, burning a pack of direwolves to ashes, "Hahahahaha…"

"The captain's being weird again." Someone muttered under their breath.

_Shing!_

A blade flashed, and a golem was cleaved in half.

"Ahahahaha…"

Bell's eyes gleamed with a sadistic glint.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air.

"That direction!"

Bell quickly turned, and ran towards the direction of the sound.

"All of you, wait here! Lante, you take over as leader for now!"

Bell sped off.

An army of golems.

That's what Bell saw when he ran out of the forest.

All of them wielded massive scimitars.

_No…_

"LIGHTNING!" A bolt of lightning came crashing out of the sky, electrocuting all the golems.

After reaching the centre of the village, Bell placed his hand down on the ground and muttered a few words.

"Mana trace."

A blue line appeared in the middle of the air, leading towards the southwest.

"That way, huh?"

Bell stopped his spell and ran towards the point where the line leaded to.

"I knew you would be back…" Bell said to himself while running, "Behemoth."

_Bell, listen._

_The three great monsters are not dead. They still live on, gradually regaining power._

_I am telling you this, because one day, when we are all gone, it will be your job to stop them._

"Okay, grandfather." Bell muttered to himself, "I'll fulfil your request."

The blue line disappeared.

Bell drew his sword and started charging his argonaut.

_Roar._

A howl cut through the air.

"Now…" Bell spoke to the air, "I will finally get revenge for my family."

A monster rose out of the ground. It resembled a human, except much larger. A coat of flames wreathed its body.

_The Behemoth._

"Chrono Blade!" Bell charged at the monster.

The blade hit the Behemoth at multiple different angles, leaving small scratches.

The wounds quickly healed.

"I see. So it's got incredible defence and regenerative powers."

"Then, what about magic?"

Bell coated his blade with the white light from Argonaut.

"Lightning. Wind. Earth. Fire. Water. Nature. Darkness. Light."

A myriad of colours coated Bell's white blade.

"Elemental Wrath!"

A translucent arc shot out of Bell's blade, hitting the Behemoth.

The Behemoth stretched out a large hand, and the hand collided with the arc.

The arc disappeared, but left a large gash on the Behemoth's hand.

But the wound quickly healed.

"So, I do have enough attack power to damage it." Bell spoke to himself, "But that regeneration magic is a big problem."

_Wait, but it's not casting any healing magic, as far as I am aware._

"Mana Trace."

Suddenly, the Behemoth glowed blue, a sign that it was casting magic that covered its entire body.

"Ah, I see." Bell said to himself, "So, those flames act as a protective shield and as a healing cloak, huh? Which means I either have to disable the magic or hit it with enough attacks of high enough power, then I win."

White light covered Bell's blade.

"True Strike!"

_Flash._

A large mark appeared on the Juggernaut's outstretched arm.

Blood dripped out.

_So Argonaut enhanced attacks are the only things that are going the work on it._

_In that case, I can try out something I've been meaning to try out for a long time._

Bell raised his sword again.

_Ring!_

White light covered the blade, and Bell slashed down with it.

_Ring! Ring!_

White light covered the blade again before the light faded away, and Bell released two more slices.

_Ring!_

Another attack.

A barrage consisting of sword hits enhanced with an 1-second charged argonaut.

"Hero's Blitz!"

Bell increased the rate of his attacks.

Blood flew out from the place he was attacking, and gaping wounds were left open.

_Now!_

As the Behemoth's hand came sweeping from the side, Bell prepared to plunge forward.

_Tear._

Bell's leg froze.

_Oh crap… I used it too much._

The hand caught Bell on the side and sent him flying.

Straight into the Artemis Familia's first hunting party.

"Bell…?" Rethusa raised her chive as she inspected the white haired boy that had seemingly fallen out of the sky.

"Get back!" Bell screamed, standing up again.

A stomp shook the clearing.

Birds left the trees they were nesting on, fleeing the oncoming terror.

Predator and prey alike ran from what was approaching.

The tyrant of the land.

The Behemoth.

"Everyone, stay back." Bell spoke calmly without turning around.

"Wait! Even though you levelled up, that thing is still too powerful for you to fight!" Rethusa objected.

"This is my fight. And I won't permit you to help." Bell turned around, his red eyes gleaming with a tint that Rethusa had never seen before, despite spending years around him.

"Very well. Everybody, fall back." Rethusa commanded, "Bell… Come back alive."

Bell nodded and raised his sword.

The Behemoth burst into the clearing.

Roaring, it charged towards Bell.

Bell released an equally loud roar and charged forward to meet it.

A fierce clash of two wills broke out.

Bell's white blade flashed multiple times, leaving wounds over the Behemoth's outstretched hand.

"Awaken, Tempest." Green wind covered Bell's body, and he sped up, racing up the Behemoth's arm.

Bell jumped up and stuck his sword out.

"Maximum output!" The wind rapidly increased in intensity.

"Lil–––"

The Behemoth's other hand came swinging around, it's fist hitting Bell on the side.

_Crack._

Bell felt a part of his ribcage crack under the force of the blow.

He flew into a tree, and the Behemoth followed suite, its footsteps causing tremors to shake the land.

Its ominous arm looms over his body.

A white arrow flies into the Behemoth's eye.

It roars in pain.

"Light arrow…" Bell murmurs to himself, "…Rethusa?"

"He was surprisingly easy to hit. Guess that comes with size, though." She replies back, readying another arrow

_Magic arrows._

Rethusa's special magic was to imbue arrows with magic, essentially turning them into magic arrows.

Two more arrows flew into the Behemoth's skin, the first bursting into flames and the second discharging electricity.

The Behemoth changed course and started heading towards the Artemis familia's main faction.

"Bell, we'll hold him back for now. You recover!" Rethusa shouted at him, readying three more arrows and placing them in her bow.

"White nova ray!" A blast of white light shot out of Lante, the level 5 mage of the Artemis familia's wand.

The burst of white light bored a hole in the Behemoth's arm, slowing down its movements.

"Frontline fighters, attack it from its blind points!" Rethusa shouted out a command.

"Wait!" Bell shouted, but a moment too late.

The Behemoth seemed to smile as flames curler around his hand, healing all of its injuries.

A single blow from its fist sent shockwaves in every direction, blasting all the vanguard members back.

The Behemoth closed in on Rethusa and Lante, recognising them to be the biggest threat.

It crossed the gap with a single step.

"Oh crap…" Rethusa muttered.

Bell stood up.

"Ariel! Maximum Output!"

A torrent of green wind surrounded Bell's body, entering on his sword.

_Ring!_

A grand bell rang.

_Six minute charge._

"Argo Rafaga!"

Bell shot forward, closing the distance in less than a second.

His blade pierced a massive hole in the Behemoth's arm, causing the part containing the hand to drop.

Landing, Bell charged at the Behemoth again.

Flames spread out from the Behemoth's arm, attempting to heal the wound, but nothing happened.

"Of course… A spirit's wind…" Bell muttered to himself, "Again!"

_Ring!_

A bell chimed.

A 1 minute charge.

"Argo Rafaga!"

Bell shot forward, aiming straight for the Behemoth's chest.

The sword hit him right on mark, but didn't pierce through.

_Crack._

A line appeared on the blade.

_Crack._

It spread along the entire width, and the blade shattered.

Bell stared at his now broken sword in shock as the Behemoth made its next move, launching Bell high up in the air.

It opened its wide jaws, preparing to chomp him in half.

_Shit._

_I no longer have a weapon._

_Wait._

_No… I do._

_I promised myself never to use it._

_Not after everything that had happened._

_But…_

_I don't have a choice, do I?_

_I'm sorry, mother… father…_

"RESCIND!" Bell shouted.

A white blade appeared in his hand.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"

Gripping the sword tight, a black and white aura covered his body.

With a swing of the sword, Bell knocked the Behemoth's oncoming teeth away.

The blade Bell gripped was called Theseus.

The sword that belong to the leader of the Zeus familia.

Vermillion Cranel.

Bell's adoptive father.

"Behemoth…" Bell started speaking, "If you are the flame that consumes all forests and all life… I will be the hurricane that extinguishes that flame!"

A torrent of black and white wind covered Bell's entire body, blowing with so much force that trees were ripped out of the ground and spiralled around Bell, the centre of the growing tornado.

The wind condensed around the blade.

"ARGO RAFAGA!"

The blade pierced straight through the Behemoth's armour of flames.

It bore a hole straight through the Bejemoth, piercing its magic stone.

"PIERCE THROUGH!

_Crack._

With a cracking sound, the magic stone shattered.

The body of the Behemoth disintegrated/

And with it, Bell collapsed onto the ground.

_The first stage of my vengeance…_

_Is complete._

* * *

**AN: Okay! That's another chapter finished! Hope you guys enjoyed, reading it, sorry for the delays, and apologies for any grammatical errors! Now for the reviews!**

**Shin Hyo Joon: Thanks for the review! I hope this chapter satisfied you.**

**Guest: Thanks for the comments, I'll fix them when I have time. I think how the blocking the fangs part was that Aiz blocked it once, then got knocked away, and then Bell blocked it when it was coming down the second time. I'll also fix the developmental abilities.**

**Sageofchaos: Thanks!**

**And with that, we're finished! Hope to see you all next time!**


	7. The Hero I Wanted to Be

_Drip._

A drop of ichor, the blood of the divine, fell out of a goddess's finger and landed on a certain white-haired boy's back.

–––

Name: Bell Cranel

Familia: Artemis Familia

Level: 7

Stats:

Strength: I 0

Endurance: I 0

Dexterity: I 0

Agility: I 0

Magic: I 0

Hunter: S

Immunity: S

Pummel: S

Healing Power: S

Mage: S

Magic:

Sacred Arrow.

Skills:

Dreamer:

\- Can cast any spell, as long as the effects can be visualised, in exchange for more mana usage.

Imminent:

\- No chant is needed to cast a spell, in exchange for more mana usage.

Argonaut:

\- Can charge up to 7 minutes. Used to power either a physical or magical attack of any sort.

Liaris Freese

\- Rapid growth.

\- Lasts as long as emotions do.

Black Hatred:

\- Gets powered up when there is hatred directed at the one-eyed black dragon. Effects will vary depending on the level of hatred.

Lost Time:

\- Gets powered up when reminded of the Zeus familia.

Saviour:

\- Stage 1: Allows for simultaneous Argonaut charges.

–––

"LEVEL 7 IN ONE WEEK?" Artemis nearly screamed out loud, only barely cutting short of shaking the very foundations of the earth..

However, the noise still reverberated through the hallways, notifying the familia about their captain's unsettling speed of growth.

Meanwhile, the 2 level 5 members of the familia sighed dejectedly, as if used to this development.

–––

~Twilight Manor.

"Hey Aizu, did you hear?" A certain vermillion haired goddess spoke while updating her status, "Apparently that bow-freak's child levelled up in a week."

"Wha–" Aiz muttered.

"Wha–?" Loki repeated.

"WHAAAAAT THE HELLLLLLL?" Aiz screamed a moment later.

–––

~Guild Hall.

"WHAAAAAAAAT? LEVEL 7 IN A WEEK?" The guild hall was filled with the screaming sound of Eina Tulle, Bell's advisor's scream.

"Please keep it down…" Bell muttered.

After many failed attempts at pacifation, Bell finally managed to calm her down, but not before notifying nearly all of the adventurers who where there, and considering it was around the time when they came back from the dungeon to trade in their magic stones, notifying the majority if the adventurers of Orario.

–––

~Tower of Babel, 4th Floor.

"Wh-wh-WHERE DID YOU GET THIS SWORD?" Tsubaki screamed as she inspected Theseus.

"Huh? Is there really something special about it?" Bell replied back, completely oblivious.

"This sword is spirit forged."

"Spirit forged? What's that?"

"HOW ON EARTH COULD YOU HAVE THIS SWORD WITHOUT KNOWING IT'S PROPERTIES?" Tsubaki screamed, and after taking a few deep breaths, started explaining, "Spirit forged blades have a reputation as the strongest blades. They are sturdier than durandal blades, but honestly, it still surprises me how on earth you managed to break your old sword, and can cast magic far stronger than even Crozzo's magic swords. They are forged with the power of the ancient spirits."

"Ooh, that sounds awesome. So, what magic does this thing have?"

Tsubaki inspected the blade for a moment, then replied, "So far, it seems to have a few. But it's written in hieroglyphs. and I'm not the crazy type of person who can read those. You'll have to register more."

"Register? Like how?"

"Stick the blade into something magical and it will register it. But don't go sticking the blade into everything. It has a limit of spells, although I'm not sure what the limit for this one is. Seems absurdly high."

"Oh, I see. Thanks!"

Bell picked up his sword and stood up, heading out of Babel.

–––

"Artemis-sama, I'll be heading out of Orario for a bit tomorrow." Bell said to his blue haired goddess one day while eating breakfast, which consisted of roasted monster meat and scrambled phoenix eggs.

"Out of Orario? Why?" The goddess queried.

"I'm going to look for some… old friends, I guess." Bell said, "Though I'm not sure my relationship with them could be called that."

"Friends, huh? I never thought you were that type of person when you were a kid. You were soooo adorable!" Artemis lightly teased, laughing at Bell's increasingly red face.

"Well, I remember when _you _took us out on a hunting expedition and thought it was a good idea to give away all our food because you don't need to eat!" Bell shot back.

"I apologized for that!"

"Yeah, you spent half a day in a dogeza!"

Artemis puffed out her cheeks.

"Bell, you utterly disgusting, terrible, enemy of all women!"

"Wait, what? What did I ever say to deserve that title!"

"Everything! You insensitive, horrendous bastard!"

"What?!"

"Both of you, calm down." Rethusa and Lante grabbed Bell and Artemis, respectively, and dragged them away from each other.

"Artemis-sama, please calm down!" Lante squeaked out as one of the pouting goddess's flailng fists hit her in the face.

"Bell, you have something you need to do, do you not?" Rethusa said to Bell as she dragged him towards the exit.

"Ah, right!" Bell said, standing up, "I'll probably be gone for quite a while."

"Yeah, us too. The guild wants us to go to some sort of place. The ruins of Elsus, I think?"

"I have absolutely no idea what or where that is, but good luck anyway!"

Bell opened the doors of the Moonlit Palace and walked out of the mansion.

–––

~Walls of Orario

"Hmm… So, where should I start?" Bell looked out across the plains, deep in thought, "They should be somewhere around the ocean, so that's a starting point, but… hmmm… Maybe I'll pop by Meren and have a check."

Bell jumped off the walls, landing on the ground with the endurance of a level 7 adventurer.

–––

~One day later, port Meren.

"Skip Njöror, somebody wants to see you." The captain of the Njord familia, Rod, called to his god.

"Who is it?"

After a moment of discussion, Rod shouted back,

"He appears to be called Bell Cranell, skip Njöror."

"WHAT?"

–––

"So, Bell, why are you here?" Njord asked the white haired rabbit–– I mean, boy.

"Do you have any idea on the whereabouts of the Poseidon familia?" Bell cut straight to the chase.

"Why are you searching for them now?" Njord asked.

"The Leviathan is returning, and we're short of time. I have to move fast." Bell replied.

"The Leviathan?" Njord asked, utterly shocked, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. They left years ago to who knows where. They could be on the other side of the planet for all we are aware of."

"I see… well, thanks, I guess." Bell sighed, "I'll just have to deal with it by myself."

Bell stood up and left the room.

"Jeez, that kid never changes…" Njord muttered to himself after Bell left.t

–––

~Orario, one day later.

"Wow, I came back really early, huh?" Bell muttered to himself, "What should I do?"

Then he smiled to himself.

"Of course, there's only one place bored adventurers go!"

"Off to the dungeon we go!"

–––

~Dungeon, 50th floor, 5 hours later.

"Ah, shame Loki familia defeated Balor already. I was itching for a chance to relieve some stress." Bell muttered to himself, "Guess I'll head further down."

Bell walked through the entrance to the 51st floor, without a care in the world.

That is, until he heard an inhumane scream.

He took off immediately towards the noise.

"There's only one familia that would go here… Loki familia?" Bell muttered to himself as he ran.

–––

~Dungeon, 52nd floor.

"Everyone, keep on running!" Finn shouted, "Aiz, don't follow them! Raul and the others are still here. We'll head down and meet them the normal way."

Aiz Wallenstein nodded.

"What happened here?" Finn turned around to a voice.

"Ah, Bell. We were on an expedition to try and go to the 59th floor, but… certain things happened."

"I see. Mind if I join you guys? I'm kind of bored."

Finn thought for a bit, then replied, "Sure. We will need some extra manpower, by the looks of it."

Bell nodded.

"Well, I'll be heading down first. Toodles!" Bell jumped down a hole.

"Jesus, he's nearly as carefree as Tiona…" Aiz muttered to herself as she watched the white haired rabbit cleave several wyverns in half.

–––

~Dungeon, 58th floor.

"GRAAAAAH!" Bete Loga, the level 5 vanguard for the Loki familia, howled as he slashed at a valgang dragon.

"Fusillade Fallarica!" Lefiya Viridis shouted, as she casted her magic. Flames shot out and burnt a few dragons to ash.

"LEFIYA! WATCH OUT!" Tiona screamed as she saw a dragon rising out of the ground behind her.

Lefiya turned around, and gazed straight into the eye of the dragon, "Oh crap…"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Lefiya heard a voice scream, and instinctively jumped back as a ray of white light blasted the dragon to dust.

"Magic? But who?" Tiona turned around.

A cracking noise sounded as Bell's foot made contact with the ground.

"You're the rabbit from that time!" Tiona shouted, "Why are you here?"

"I got bored." Was all Bell said to answer, "We can talk about this later!"

"Fine."

A splotchy sound made its way down the corridor.

"The new species?" Tione said in shock.

"I'll take care of those! You guys focus on the dragons!" Bell shouted, sticking out his hand with a familiar ringing sound, "Harbringer of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf! Wynn Fimbulvetr!"

The argonaut enhanced ice magic shot across the cavern with uncanny speed, instantly killing all the Virga.

"That's Riveria-sama's magic! How can that human…" Lefiya thought to herself as she watched.

Bell turned around and shot off another spell.

"Fusillade Fallarica!" He shouted, and multiple jets of fire shot out of his hand, incinerating a horde of dragons.

"How can he use my magic?" Lefiya was nearly screaming.

Finn and Aiz, along with the supporters, walked through the door.

"Captain! What's the meaning of this?" Tione asked.

"Oh, we met some help on the way and decided to take it." Finn replied.

"Well, then, to the 59th floor!" Bell shouted, excited as he walked towards the tunnel, then, noticing the half-dwarf blacksmith that had accompanied the Loki familia, "Oh, hi, Tsubaki! It's as you said! This blade is amazing!"

Tsubaki sighed.

–––

"Everybody, get ready. There's no idea what may happen when we get down there." Finn said.

"Okay." Bell muttered to himself, "Time to try this out."

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

Multiple spheres of blue and white light appeared around him.

The others who had head the noise turned around to look at him.

"Oh, ignore me. Just a bit of preparation." Bell replied, as they headed down.

"Hm? That's weird." Finn said, "The Zeus familia said that the 59th floor was extremely cold and harsh, but how come we're not feeling anything?"

"That's a lie." Bell cut in, "It was merely just to discourage suicidal people like you guys from going down there, as there are some incredibly disturbing things that should probably remain un-named."

"You speak like you've been there before." Finn asked, "Mind telling us?"

"It's full of forests, similar to the 24th floor. If I remember correctly, it was a safe zone, which might be why whoever you guys are fighting decided to set up there. Besides that, there's nothing."

"Okay." Finn said, then, turning around, said to the rest of the Loki familia, "All right! Let's go!"

–––

~Dungeon, 59th floor.

"All right, we're here. Where should we go?" Finn asked, pointing to Aiz.

"That way." Bell and Aiz said at the same time, pointing in the same direction.

"Okay, then."

They started heading through the jungle, towards the said direction.

Then, all of a sudden, the jungle disappeared around them, opening up to reveal…

"…What…is that?" Tiona asked as she ready her Urga.

It was a large, open hall of ashen earth, devoid of trees.

And at the centre of that barren wasteland was a multitude of caterpillars and violas.

It was a nauseating, gut-wrenching amount, and they were all gathered around something––– a women with a giant plantlike lower half.

"Us that one of those crystal-orb monsters?" Gareth asked, wrinkles forming in his cheeks.

"It's… absorbed a titan alm?" Riveria added, identifying the large, vegetative monster.

The caterpillars were extending tonguelike organs from their mouths, offering up the vivid magic stones at their tips to the female body of the titan alm. The violas, too, had opened their giant, gaping jaws to reveal the magic stones in their mouths.

The woman fed on those magic stones.

"You're kidding! It's already gobbled up that many monsters?" Tsubaki's right eye widened as she took in the monstrous pile of ash, almost like salt, around the creature.

It was then that Lefiya and the others noticed it.

The ashen ground they were standing upon at that very moment was actually the _countless carcasses of monsters _turned to ash and piled up beneath them.

"––––_Ah._"

The faintest noise rose from the creature's grotesque head as it raised its upper body.

Only halfway through it's feast on the surrounding monsters, it began to writhe like a worm.

"––––_Ahhhh._"

The repulsive-looking upper half still trembling and squirming, its flesh suddenly bulged.

She released a sigh of ecstasy. Finn and the others watched in amazement as the most beautiful woman they'd ever seen was born, emerging from all that ugliness like a butterfly from its cocoon.

"––––ahhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH" Came a scream of pleasure.

The adventurers had to slam their palms over their ears at the overwhelming, high-frequency sound waves that threatened to rupture their eardrums.

The woman, having risen from that husk of flesh, bent backward and directed her eyes to the heavens.

Long glossy hair descended along the curve of her back.

She was green. Every inch of her, from her hair to her skin.

Everything apart from her eyes, which were pools of gold that lacked pupils and irises.

It wasn't only her upper, human half that changed either. Her abnormal lower half also underwent a transformation, now sporting enormous petals and a multitude of tentacles.

"Wh-what _is _that thing?!" Tione groaned, still holding her ears against the creature's raucous cries.

"…No…That can't be…" Bell muttered to himself.

"…No way." Aiz said from among the din.

"She" turned away from the ceiling, head swivelling on her neck as she directed her eyes toward Aiz.

"Aria–! _Aria!_" She shouted, her voice filled with joy.

Again and again, the abnormal creature screamed the name.

And when Aiz's eyes met those golden ones, she knew.

Her body froze in terror as her trembling lips parted.

"A… spirit?!"

"That's a spirit?!" Tiona exclaimed in response to Aiz's words.

"Yes… I can feel it." Bell said, seemingly to nothing.

"Aria! _Aria!_"

Her voice, almost like a child's, faltered as she awkwardly formed the words.

"_I missed you! I missed you!_"

"…?!"

"_Don't you want to be together forever? Won't you let me eat you?_"

"Everyone, prepare for battle!" Finn commanded.

Myriad tentacles rose from her titan-all lower half, whipping forward with a wild celerity.

Tiona and Tione responded to the onslaught with a swift counterattack of their own.

"This thing's tough!" The games of the twin sisters twisted in identical grimaces at the speed and power of the incoming attack.

"My thumb… it won't stop throbbing… Something's coming!" Finn's usual mask of leadership was beginning to crack, "We have to be prepared for anything!"

His instincts weren't to be taken lightly. He was the one person there most attuned to the battle.

"Arise, flames."

In an instant, the spell was cast.

"_Rage, rage, RAGE! Vortex of fire! The crimson wall! Hellfire's roar! May the ardor of the gale plunge the world into grief and misery! The sky shall burn! The earth shall ignite! The seas shall boil! The fonts shall churn! The mountains shall erupt! All life shall turn to ash! May the lives of the great ones serve as atonement for the coming choler and grief––!_"

"EVERYONE! GET BEHIND ME!" Bell shouted as he raised his sword.

A grand bell sound chimed.

"_Your envoy beseeches you, Salamander! Incarnate of fire! Queen of flame––_"

_Gong._

"_Come, water. Sweep the lands. Ravage the ocean. Overturn boats. May the vortex swallow everything. Let the tidal wave destroy the lands. Let the tsunami consume all. Let the hurricane wreck destruction on everything. Your envoy beseeches you, Undine. Incarnate of water! Queen of the ocean!_" Bell started chanting, rattling off his spell at an unbelievably fast speed.

The spirit finished it's chant.

"_Fire Storm!_"

_Ring._

A bell sound resonated throughout the entire floor.

"MYSTICAL VORTEX!" Bell shouted.

The massive inferno collided with a gigantic pillar of water.

Steam covered the entire floor.

"_Aria! Aria!_" The spirit continued screaming, looking around.

The steam cleared.

"_Moan, might earth. Rise, rise, RISE! Husk of the earth, Sheen of iron! Hammer of the cosmos! May genie's pact upheave rock and stone! The sky shall burn! The earth shall split! The bridge shall rise! Heaven and earth shall become one! May the axes of the ether rain down and bring about calamity's ruin! Your envoy beseeches you, Gnome! Incarnate of the land! Queen of the earth! _"

"Another spell?!" Bell screamed, his blade glowing white, "_Dance light! Illuminate even the darkest of places! Shine with the glow of a million fireflies! Eternal light, cast away the darkness! Your envoy beseeches you, Lux! Incarnate of light! Queen of illumination!_"

"_Meteor Swarm!_"

The circle flashed, and light shot straight up to coat the ceiling in shadow.

The magic converged, and thousand upon thousands of meteorites formed in the mass of darkness.

And in that moment, the storm began.

"Light of a thousand!"

Thousands upon thousands of small balls of pure, condensed energy formed.

The flew up, intercepting the meteors, blasting them to dust and fading away.

Bell fell down, hand still raised.

"God, casting too much magic really sucks, huh?" Bell muttered to himself.

"_Descend, mist of dreams._" The spirit started chanting.

Bell, who was in the process of standing up, froze.

"_Cover the forest in eternal mist. Cast the foolish men that walk upon this sacred ground into an endless sleep. You envoy beseeches you, Valerie. Incarnate of dreams! Queen of the mind!_"

Bell continued staring at the spirit, a blank look on his face, then drew his blade.

"_Forest of Drea––_" As the spirit was about to finish his chant–

_Shing!_

A blood red sword buried itself in the spirit's body.

The pent up magic in the spirit exploded.

Bell had threw his blade, enhanced by magic, at the spirit, full force.

"At least I can confirm that you didn't devour all the spirits now." Bell said, a white aura starting to rise out of his body, "Because I know my mother was consumed by the black dragon."

After saying that, he bit his lip.

Aiz, who was about to move forward, froze.

"Your mother? Black…dragon?"

Bell gave a forced smile.

"My adoptive mother was Valerie, the spirit of the mind. She served as a temporary member of the Zeus familia."

"Zeus familia?!" The Loki familia executives were shocked.

"Now that I think of it… I do remember hearing about a white haired-rabbit from Zeus familia who levelled up at an absurdly fast rate, as well as being even more suicidal then Aiz." Finn muttered to himself.

"Suicidal? What did he do?" Aiz asked.

"I solo'd the Goliath at level 2, Ambphisbaena at level 3 and Udaeus at level 4." Bell replied.

"Udaeus?!" Aiz nearly shouted, thinking about her experience with the skeleton lord, "What about level 1?"

"I'd… rather not speak about that." Bell replied, "But I think we should focus on the battle!"

Bell raised his hand, and then red blade flew back into his hand.

A gigantic red flame shot out of the blade, burning the corrupted spirit.

The spirit screamed in pain, then bent back its head and casted another spell.

"_Pierce, spear of lightning! your envoy beseeches thee, Tonitrus! Incarnate of thunder! Queen of lightning!_"

Bell stuck out his free hand, his other one sheathing his sword. White mist started condensation around his hand, forming a bow.

"_Thunder Ray!_" The spirit screamed.

"_Illusion Arrow!_" Bell released his attack in counter.

The two colliding energies met, and the arrow blew the ray of lightning away, embedding itself in the spirit's forehead.

Upon contact, the arrow instantly dissipated, the milky white aura seeping into the spirit's skin.

"Alright! A direct hit!" Bell dropped his bow, and took out his blade, charging towards the spirit.

The spirits lashed out with its tentacles, but in the wrong direction.

"Hah! It worked!" Bell said to himself in celebration.

_Illusion Arrow._

_A spell that directly manipulates the enemies mind upon contact. _

White light coated Bell's sword as he charged towards the spirit.

As Bell jumped up, the spirit laughed.

She opened her lips to reveal the inside of her mouth, which housed a tiny magic circle.

The spirit released her spell.

"_Icicle Edge._"

A pillar of ice shot out of her mouth, colliding with the tip of the white blade.

_Crack._

A single crack appeared in the pillar of ice.

_Crack._

It expanded, running down the entirety of the pillar.

The pillar exploded into millions of ice shards.

Green wind covered Bell's body.

"_Argo Rafaga!_"

–––

The sword pierced straight through the spirit, instantaneously destroying its magic stone.

The resulting shock waves made the entire floor quake.

The spirit exploded into a cloud of dust.

Bell stared silently as the last bit of the spirit vanished into the air.

–––

~Dungeon, 18th floor.

"This is where we will part ways." Bell said, "Thank you for letting me join you on this expedition."

"Of course." Finn replied back, "I guess this adds another tally to how much we owe you, huh?"

Bell smiled.

"That's a matter for later."

Then he walked out of the crystal cavern, heading back to the surface.

~Moonlit Palace.

"They still aren't back yet, huh?" Bell muttered to himself as he took a quick look around the manor.

"I… Guess I'll go to bed." Bell said after a moment of thought, heading to his bedroom.

Sitting on his bed, he spoke softly, looking up at the heavens.

"I promise I'll be back for all of you."

Then he fell asleep, exhaustion finally taking its toll.

–––

~The next day, the Lunar Festival.

Bell walked around the streets of Orario, marvelling at the beautiful light-show of lamps that decorated the streets.

"Shame they weren't back for this, it's kind of lonely by myself." Bell said to nothingness.

He paused for a second to glance at some food stands, then continued walking.

"Friends, lend me your ears!" A shout echoed out throughout the streets.

"Listen if you stand far. Watch if you stand close! Call out your name if you think you've got what it takes!"

"This voice… Hermes?" Bell hesitantly spoke out the name of the god.

"Now! Which intrepid hero will pull this spear free?! This legendary spear can only be freed by the chosen one, who will be blessed by the very goddess of purity!"

Embedded in a transparent crystal, was a grey spear.

"That…spear…is…" Bell stuck out his hand.

_Come to me, Orion._

Hieroglyphs appeared on the spear, shining blue.

The crystal shattered.

The spear flew into Bell's hand.

"I thought so." Bell muttered to himself, "Hermes, where on earth did you get this?"

"Why, if it isn't Bell!" Hermes shouted, "We have our chosen one!"

"Answer my question, Hermes." Bell's eyes started to glow a light red.

"Can you come with me for a second?" Hermes gestured towards the walls of Orario.

"Sure."

–––

~The walls of Orario

"Answer my question." Bell said, the instant they were out of sight.

"Very well, then. Do you know about the ruins of Elsus?" Hermes asked.

"A bit. Artemis-sama said they were going there." Bell started.

"Good, you know the gist of it." Hermes explained, "The ruins of Elsus is a seal. A seal on an ancient monster."

"A monster?"

"It's name was Antares." Hermes continued, "It rotted the land and took the life out of everything. It was finally defeated when the six spirits of purity gave up their lives to seal it away. However, the seal was weakening with time, and finally Antares gained enough power to break free."

"You mean––"

"That's right. The monster is back." Hermes said, "Ouranos assigned Artemis with the task of defeating it, as the spirits were the servants of Artemis."

"You still haven't told me why you have her arrow."

"I'm getting to that. Now, Artemis and her familia, exempting you, went on an expedition to renew the seal. However, it was too late, and they had to fight the monster."

"What happened to them?"

"They were… all killed."

Bell froze.

His grip on the spear loosened, and it fell to the ground.

"And… What about Artemis-sama?" He said hesitantly.

"Moments before she was devoured by the monster, she used her Arcanum to bring the spear to Gekai. It is our only hope of defeating the monster."

"…Devoured?"

"The monster consumed her. A monster with arcanum… it's terrifying."

Bell stopped.

"Why would the guild send them on such a dangerous mission?! It took six spirits to seal it, Hermes. How could they expect them to rival that monster?!" Bell screamed, "Now they're all dead! DEAD!"

"Please calm down, Bell."

"Calm down?! You want me to calm down?! Well, maybe that would be easier for me to do if you didn't bring me the news that the guild just ordered all of my familia members to their deaths!"

"Please, Bell. Artemis has chosen you as the wielder of that spear. It is now your… duty to kill it." Hermes said hesitantly.

There was a moment of silence.

"Fine." Bell said, hatred still dripping in his tone, "But I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for them. Where is it?"

"If you head towards the east, the trees will eventually start turning purple. That is a sign that you are getting close."

"Very well." Bell said, turning around. He walked down the stairs in silence.

"Bell, before you leave." Hermes said, slightly hesitant, "Antares's magic stone is a blue crystal in its chest. Destroying the crystal is the only way to kill it."

Bell nodded, then headed towards the east gate, and wordlessly walked out of Orario.

Glancing back at Orario, Bell muttered to himself,

"Artemis-sama… I swear I'll get you back."

–––

_Shing!_

A red sword cut a scorpion-like monster in half.

"There's no end to them." Bell muttered to himself as he cut another one down.

"Fire Gale!" Flames appeared in the air, burning multiple monsters to ash, clearing a path.

Bell took off running.

"Forward, forward. Just keep running." Bell muttered to himself.

Glowing white and blue light particles started to appear around his hand.

–––

"I should be here." Bell spoke softly to the air, as he walked through a corridor.

Darkness engulfed him the instant he walked into the main chamber.

Seconds later, he was hit by a rain of white arrows.

–––

"Arrows? Urgh–" Bell exclaimed in shock, "Barrier!"

A white barrier appeared in the air in front of him, shielding him.

The glowing arrows illuminated the chamber, letting Bell see the true form of the monster he was fighting.

It was a gigantic, black and red scorpion like creature. A single gigantic eye adorned its head.

"Antares." Bell muttered to himself, staring the monster down with his slightly glowing red eyes.

The monster let out a howl that echoed across the entire chamber.

That was when Bell saw the bodies strewn across the chamber floor.

"Rethusa..."

A reddish-brown haired girl appeared in his line of sight.

"Lante..."

His eyes moved across to see the corpse of a long, blue haired girl, still clutching her staff in her dying moments.

Antares howled again, and four pieces of its shell parted, revealing a blue crystal in its chest.

In that crystal, trapped, was a blue haired goddess.

A tear trickled down her cheek.

"Artemis-sama..."

A beam of blue light shot out of the crystal and blasted a hole through Bell's arm.

Bell clenched his teeth.

"Heal." The wound quickly mended itself.

Raising his blood-red blade, Bell got into a battle stance.

–––

"Urgh–––" Bell let out a groan as one of Antares's heavy claws hit him on the chest, and went flying across the chamber, slamming into a wall and badly denting it.

Bell coughed, and blood spurted out of his mouth.

The fight had reached the point where Bell no longer had enough mind to spare, causing him to forgo healing in exchange for a higher damage output. Bloodied holes dotted various areas on his chest.

"Spear of vengeance… Pierce my enemies! Cover your tip with the blood of countless souls! Vengeance Lance!" Red and black energy seeped out of Bell's hand, forming a spear that flew towards Antares. However, the monster merely released another blast of arcanum which cancelled it out.

_This isn't good… I'm drawing perilously close to a mind down, while he doesn't show even a single sign of being low on energy._

_I really hate doing this… but I guess I have no choice._

Bell reached into his pocket and took out a magic stone that he had taken from one of the scorpion monsters previously, and raised it towards his mouth.

_Crack._

Pressing his teeth against it, he bit the stone in half. The rampant energy that was released was quickly absorbed into Bell's body.

Magic stone lamps and the like ran on an extremely basic premise. All it did was to extract energy from what lied in the magic stones of monsters, and converted that energy into whatever it was needed for.

What Bell did was an extremely crude method of extracting energy, a method only him and maybe Loki familia's Nine Hell could accomplish. By using mind to control the energy, he absorbed it into his body, rejuvenating it and resupplying him with mind.

"Heal." Bell skipped the chant this time, and glowing green light cascaded over his wounds, healing them instantly.

"Alright then," Bell muttered to himself, 'Let the party begin."

–––

For the umpteenth time, Bell's crimson sword clashed with Antares's claws, sending sparks flying.

_I still have to be conservative of my energy, _Bell thought to himself, _this fight will most likely drag on for a long time, and I my supply of magic stones aren't infinite, not to mention I hate using them as a source of energy._

A ray of purple energy cleaved the ground in front of him in half, and he narrowly avoided being cut in half.

_I have to search for a weak point! It's armour is too tough for me to just go in for a straightforward attack, and it'll cancel out any magic attacks of mine with arcanum! Think, Bell!._

Bell's eyes scanned Antares's entire body, searching for a single weak point.

_Bingo._

Bell smilled.

"Chrono Warp."

Bell's form flickered.

The next moment, he was in front of Antares, his sword covered in white and blue light particles.

By using Chrono Warp, he had slowed down time for long enough that he could charge his argonaut to it's upper limit, seven minutes.

Bell stabbed at Antares's gigantic eyeball with his sword, and upon contact, his sword released a massive jolt of electricity into Antares's body.

For the first time, Antares screeched in pain.

The monster was consumed with rage, and prepared to wipe the human off the surface of the earth with everything that he had. Drawing on the goddess's power, he released a blinding flash of light, and a storm of a thousand arrows.

"Again?!" Bell shouted, moving his right hand in a circular motion, "Barrier!"

The barrier that appeared in the air on top of Bell blocked the arrows, although one got through and ripped a small hole in Bell's shirt.

However, by the time the dust had cleared, Antares was focusing on something else.

It had decided.

It would not only eradicate this human out of existence, but also _every other living thing in existence._

A gigantic bow, made out of magic runes, slowly started to manifest in the sky.

–––

~In Orario.

A gasp spread out across the city.

"What's that?" An adventurer asked, and the question was seconded by many others.

"Another moon?" Somebody else asked.

"No..." Aiz stepped out, looking at the distant sky, "That's not a moon."

Far away from Orario, above the ruins of Elsus, where a boy was clashing with an ancient monster, the bowstring was slowly being pulled back.

–––

_Bell!_

A voice sounded in Bell's head.

_Who are you? _He asked back at the unknown perpetrator of his mind.

_It's me, Hermes. Please listen carefully, I don't have much time._

Bell nodded, even though he knew Hermes could not see him.

_Antares is using the arcanum he stole from Artemis to launch an arrow. The arrow of Artemis_

_That arrow? I thought I have it! _Bell asked, gripping the spear that was tied onto his back.

_The one you possess is the true form, the superior version. However, this "imitation" is more than enough to wipe Orario off the map._

_So, please, Bell. The fate of Orario is in your hands._

Bell froze.

_Are you saying… I have… to kill her?_

Slowly, his eyes started to turn a crimson red.

_Bell, please. Artemis wouldn't want you to prioritize her life over the lives of everyone else on this planet. _

_You know how much Artemis loved the land, and the life on Gekai. It's up to you to protect it in her place._

_Bell… this isn't a story about murdering a goddess._

_It's… a story about saving a crying girl._

_In place of all the gods and goddesses, I beg of you._

_Save…_

_Artemis._

–––

~Orario, 5 years ago.

"Bell, is it? Zeus told me about you." A blue haired girl stood over a small child with white hair, smiling, "My name is Artemis! I'm a goddess from heaven."

"You're like… gramps?" Bell stuttered out.

"Mhm! Your grandfather asked me to take care of you if he was to return to heaven. So, would you like to join my familia?" Artemis asked.

Bell hesitated, then nodded.

–––

"Geez, Bell!" Artemis stood over Bell, still a child, who was sitting on a chair, "How many time do I have to tell you, YOU ARE A LEVEL ONE ADVENTURER! STOP GOING TO MIDDLE FLOORS!"

"But the monsters on the upper floors are too weak. I can't get strong fighting them." Bell lashed back.

"How many times do I have to tell you! Your level up will come eventually! Stop being overly suicidal! Do you think your parents or your grandfather would like to hear that you died because of your own recklessness?"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS LIKE YOU KNOW THEM!" Bell screamed, smacking away the goddess's hand, "DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO WATCH EVERY LIVING MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY DIE, ONE BY ONE AS A FUCKING DRAGON CONSUMES THEM?"

He kicked open the door and ran out of the house, running towards the dungeon.

–––

~Dungeon, floor 16

_Screech!_

A minotaur was cleaved in half from the waist to the shoulder, it's blood spurting out.

"Huff… Huff..." Bell panted, holding his sword with his bloodied hands.

"The monsters here are still too weak."

The white haired child descended down another foor.

"I need a stronger enemy..."

–––

~Dungeon, floor 17.

Bell stood, facing the great wall of sorrow, waiting.

_Crack._

The crystal wall cracked, and a gigantic black hand reached out.

"The Goliath." Bell muttered to himself, getting into a battle stance.

The monster roared, the noise reverberating throughout the entire chamber.

Bell charged at the monster, sword flashing.

–––

_Shing!_

The metal blade cut a line on the Goliath's arm, causing blood to spurt out, covering Bell's face.

"Not enough..." Bell muttered to himself as he charged at the monster again, "It's not strong enough!"

Bell swung his sword with speed unbefitting of a level one adventurer, his blade carving through the Goliath's hard skin.

Jumping up, he swung his sword down as hard as he could at the Goliath's head, preparing to end it with one blow.

_Crack._

The blade shattered.

The worn and tattered blade was nearing the end of its life, and Bell's reckless use of it had caused it to break too early.

"Crap." Bell made out as the Goliath's fist colliding with his arms, which he raised just in time to shield his head.

He went flying into the crystal wall, and the Goliath lumbered after him.

The Goliath raised it's foot, and prepared to stomp down on the hapless adventurer.

_Shing!_

An arrow lodged itself in the center of the Goliath's head.

Bell looked around, to see a blue haired girl standing in the corridor, another arrow already nocked in her bow.

_The goddess of archery._

The second arrow embedded itself in the Goliath's right eye, partially blinding it.

"Bell, run towards Riviria! I'll hold him off!" Artemis shouted, nocking another arrow.

Bell stared at the goddess.

"How did you get here?!" Bell shouted, "Deities aren't allowed to go into the dungeon!"

The goddess smiled.

"Just don't tell anyone!"

The Goliath turned around.

The dungeon screamed.

It had noticed the intrusion.

The Goliath changed.

It's skin turned a silvery-black, and its hair turned white.

It howled, sending vibrations throughout the entire floor.

It lumbered towards the blue haired goddess who shot another arrow at it.

But.

The arrow bounced off the hardened skin of the Goliath, who then slammed it's fist against the ground, sending shock waves that blasted the goddess into a wall.

It moved towards the prone goddess and prepared to eliminate it from existence.

"LIGHTNING RAY!" A massive ray of lightning blasted a hole in the Goliath's chest.

Turning around, it looked at the adventurer who had attacked it,

Bell stared at the Goliath, defiance glowing in his eyes, which were now dark red, nearing black.

"Magnet." Bell stuck out his hand, and the blade that rested in Artemis's belt flew into his hands, drawn by an invisible force.

"I'll be borrowing this."

Bell charged at the Goliath with the sword.

–––

"Fire pillar!" A pillar of fire erupted out of the ground below the black Goliath, scorching it's body.

"Frost nova!" A cold, harsh wind whipped up, buffeting the Goliath.

Bell charged straight through the storm, using a mixture of light and dark magic to enhance his sword.

"DIE IN A HOLE, YOU BASTARD!" Bell's sword pierced through the Goliath's skin, narrowly missing the monster's magic stone.

The black Goliath roared in pain, swinging its arms around in an attempt to strike Bell.

But Bell was too fast.

He easily avoided the monster's heavy blows, retaliating with his own, quick, nimble strikes with his sword.

"Gravity manipulation."

The gravity in the area increased by an enormous amount. Both Bell and the Goliath were pressed against the ground.

The ground started to crack.

The bottom of the floor gave away, and both human and Monster fell down.

They smashed into the ground of the 18th floor, but still continued falling down, all the way to the 19th floor.

Both Bell and the Goliath hit the floor.

As the Goliath was getting off, Bell charged at it, with elements including fire, ice, wind, water, earth, lightning, dark and light all swirling around his blade.

"Shooting Star!" Bell shot forward, blasting a hole through the Goliath's chest, destroying it's magic stone in one go.

As the monster crumbled to ash, Bell also collapsed on the ground.

"Ah… that was fun." He muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling of the floor.

_Screech!_

A screeching sound filled the air, and echoed across the entire chamber.

"A firebird?!" Bell tried to stand up, failed, then managed to pick himself off the ground.

His feet unsteady, he stood up, gripping his sword in his hands.

His right leg gave away, and his right knee hit the ground.

"Damn." He muttered to himself, smiling.

"Guess it's over–––"

_Shing!_

An arrow flew through the air and pierced the firebird's magic stone.

Two more arrows were shot, each of them landing on their respective targets, which were also two firebirds who were emerging from a cave and heading towards Bell.

A blue haired goddess landed on the ground next to Bell.

"Artemis-sama? How did you get here?" He asked, his vision becoming hazy.

"I jumped." Artemis replied, pointing toward the hole in the ceiling Bell had made, "But it's fine now. We can go back."

She smiled at Bell.

Tears trickled down Bell's face.

He nodded.

Then his consciousness faded.

–––

Bell woke up in a guild-operated hospital.

The instant he woke up, he was tackled by his teary goddess and hugged until the life was nearly drained out of him, until a doctor smacked her on the head, screaming at her for injuring a patient.

From that day on, he became slightly more social, and more open.

He started using his unique skills, Dreamer and Imminent again, leading him to be one of the strongest level 2's in existence.

Following the joining of Rethusa and Lante, he formed friendships with them that lasted until their deaths.

Six months later, he killed the monster rex Amphisbaena, who was rampaging on the 27th floor, to level up to level 3.

–––

~Present time.

Bell continued staring at Antares, a clash happening in his mind.

But it was interrupted by another voice in his head.

_Bell._

_Please..._

"Artemis-sama?!" Bell turned around, searching for a person he knew wasn't there.

_Launch your own arrow… before mine consumes us all._

Slowly, Bell sheathed his sword, and his hand moved toward his back, where the god-killing arrow rested.

Bell pulled out the spear, and blue and white light particles started spreading out from his hand, covering his entire body.

_I used to want to be a hero._

_A hero who could save everyone._

_A hero who could bring a smile to everybody's faces._

_A hero, who, no matter what, would not abandon the ones he loves._

As Bell pulled the spear back, a tear trickled down his cheek.

_This… This is not the hero I wanted to be!_

The arrow flew through the air, landing perfectly in the center of the blue crystal.

Cracks started appearing along the crystal.

And it shattered.

But the spear didn't stop.

It continued in its path forward, and flew straight through the goddess's heart.

Antares let out a shriek of pain as it's magic stone was shattered, and the monster exploded into a cloud of dust.

Artemis fell through the air.

"No!" Bell moved forward and successfully caught the goddess before she hit the ground.

"Artemis-sama?!" Bell screamed, slightly hysterical, "Artemis-sama?! Answer me!"

"Ah… Bell." The goddess smiled as her green eyes met Bell's red ones, "I'm sorry..."

"Please don't talk!" Bell said, "We can still heal you if we get you back to Orario fast enough..."

"Bell… both you and I know that's not true." Artemis said, smiling, "But it's fine. Don't worry..."

Tears freely flowed down from Bell's face, moistening the ground around him.

"Bell… did you know? Even the souls of gods will reincarnate eventually, like any mortal." Artemis said, smiling as she cupped her right hand against his cheek, catching the tears as the fell down, "I know… we will meet again."

"Bell, do you remember what Lante said the last time we went on an expedition?" Artemis asked.

Bell nodded.

"I think I finally understand what she meant by that…" Artemis continued, still smiling as tears started forming in her eyes.

"Bell… I'll miss you."

The blue haired goddess dissipated into a cloud of yellow light.

"No...no..." Bell muttered, over and over again as he watched the yellow light disappear.

The sounds of scorpions moving filled the chamber,

Without even looking, Bell knew what had happened.

He was surrounded by the offspring of Antares, still active after their creator had died.

Bell's eyes turned pitch black.

"All of you..." Bell started, magical energy pulsating in his hand, "CAN GO DIE IN A HOLE!"

The magic erupted, blasting the surrounding monsters to dust, gradually expanding.

That day, the ruins of Elsus, and the surrounding forest around it, was suddenly destroyed.

* * *

**AN: Whew! We're back with another chapter at last! I'm really sorry about the long delay in the release, but hopefully this 7000 word monster chapter will make it up.**

**As for how on earth Bell defeated the black Goliath as a level one, let's take a look at his status:**

**Name: Bell Cranel**

**Familia: Artemis Familia**

**Level: 1**

**Stats:**

**Strength: SSS 1770**

**Endurance: SSS 1567**

**Dexterity: SSS 1678**

**Agility: SSSS 2450**

**Magic: D 452**

**Magic:**

**Skills:**

**Realization:**

**-Any magic can be cast, as long as it has been seen before**

**, the only justificatin:**

**-No chant is needed to cast a spell**

**Liaris Freese EX:**

**-Excelia gained is vastly multiplied**

**This status, brought about by Bell being a level 1 for a year and venturing down to the middle levels, is his status at level 1. The reason why Bell's magic is so low is because he stopped using Realization, which is basically the precursor to Dreamer, after the death of Zeus familia as it forced him to remember them. Liaris Freese EX is born out of pure hatred towards the black dragon, but has slowly faded to become Liaris freese as his hatred slowly started fading over time. Of course, a status like this isn't able to beat the black Goliath, but this version lacks the regeneration power that the one in the main series had, the only thing that set it apart was an increase in power. Bell aslo has a decent amount of experience, built on the fact that he was trained in magic by the strongest magic user at that time, and trained in the art of the sword by the strongest swordsman to ever exist except maybe Albert Waldstein. Still that's probably not enought to beat a level 4.5ish strength monster, so honestly, my only justification is that he was really, really pissed. Okay, yeah, that's basically a Deus Ex Machina, sorry about that. Ahem. Anyway, I was considering splitting this chapter into two halves, the first being purely for the demi spirit fight, and the second for the Antares one, but later decided not to. Antares is vastly stronger compared to the one in the anime in this version. Bell has basically become an enhanced species, and his rage consumes him and he blows up a lot of stuff! Whooo! As you may have noticed, I have gotten to naming all the chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry for any grammatical errors, and hope to see you next time!**

**(God, I really did write 700 words of AN, that's a record.)**


	8. Epilogue 1: Even Heroes Cry

A boy hobbled out of the remains of a destroyed ruin.

Stumbling, he leaned on his sword, but continued forward.

His once red eyes were now tinted with grey.

A pitch black bonfire was lit in his heart.

–––

A wolf howled.

It was a cry. A cry to call its companions, to slay the prey that mother nature had so graciously provided to him.

Moments later, it became a cry of fear. A desperate wail in a final attempt to save its own life.

But nothing came for it.

A crimson sword cut of its head with a single stroke.

Its blood spurted everywhere, dying the formerly white hair red.

A tear trickled down the lost child's cheek.

But the meager drop of liquid only served to magnify the flames of revenge, of hatred.

The ground rumbled, and starting cracking open.

A gigantic fissure opened in the land.

A claw rose out of the hole, and grasped onto a boulder.

Slowly, the rest of its body emerged as well.

"A twin headed dragon." Bell muttered to himself.

Then, he knelt down and stuck his blade into the ground.

"I no longer have a want for my falna." Bell muttered, "So take it away."

White light poured out of his body, and was absorbed by the blade.

The last trickle of his falna disappeared with a blinding flash of light.

The dragon roared.

Bell picked up his sword again and charged towards the dragon.

–––

A blade was swung. Again and again, it clashed with silver-white claws.

The ground was wet.

But it wasn't raining.

As he screamed and fought, and endless stream of tears ran down his face, moistening the ground.

A fire spread out from his heart, searing his limbs and filling his entire body with rage.

Lightning flashed in the distant sky, and thunder roared.

The boy and the dragon roared as well.

One was the cry of a hunter who had found its prey.

The other was the cry of a person who had lost everything that he had ever treasured.

–––

The dragon reared one of its heads back. Blue light pulsated in its mouth.

"Oh shit!" Bell screamed, diving to the side.  
The next second, a ray of blue light destroyed the area where he was just standing.

The next second, the dragon's claws flashed, and Bell felt a tugging sensation at his left arm.

It formed an arc as it curved through the air and into the dragon's mouth, which _ate his arm._

"Urgh–" Bell groaned, trying to balance himself, "Bastard."

The dragon pawed the ground with it's claws and readied another breath attack.

"Alright then, you asshole." Bell raised his sword in a battle stance. White light condensed around it, following the ringing sound of a grand bell.

"Flashing Comet."

–––

Light flashed.

The dragon roared as one of it's heads was severed.  
"That's revenge for my arm." Bell muttered, spinning through the air.

HIs sword cut off the dragon's other head.

Bell calmly walked up to the dragon's chest and stuck his hand through it's magic stone, crushing it.

"Damn, I really wish I still had my status right now, this hurts like fuck."

–––

Bell slowly made his way back to Orario.

But when it took him a day to get there, it took him two weeks to get back.

Finally, he hobbled into the walls of Orario, and looked around.

While he was gone, not much had changed.

Everyone was still milling around peacefully, chatting, buying and eating.

The tower of Babel still loomed in the distance, casting a shadow over Orario.

It was the same, but it also wasn't.

Because _they _were gone.

And they would never be back.

–––

"Selling miniature deity dolls! Would anyone like one?" Orario's resident trickster, the vermillion-haired goddess, Loki, proclaimed as she puffed out her nearly non-existent chest, raking in the Valis as there were multiple requests for varying deities.

"Can I please have one of lord Takezemuchi!"

"I want one of lord Miach!"

"I know, right? Isn't he sooo dreamy?"

Bell walked up to the counter, pulling a few valis out of his pocket.

"Can I have a memento for Artemis-sama?" He said, placing it over the counter.

"Sure!" Loki said, handing one over, complete with a small bag covering it, "Wait, memento?"

"Mmm..." Bell said as he took it and pressed it to his cheek, "Thank you."

Slowly but steadily, a stream of tears made it down his cheek.

* * *

**AN: Yes, sorry, this was reaaaally short. Please just treat it as a prologue or an epilogue, as the title suggests. Please?**

**There's not much I will say about this chapter, giving it's... shortness, but I come bearing good news! (Hopefully) The next chapters will be (maybe) awesome! I won't go in to any of it here, but look forward to it!**

**Now for the reviews:**

**Maxasmata123456: Alright... (copy and pastes into google translate) I'm really sorry about making you wait for so long, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

**Shin Hyo Joon: Yes, I'm an asshole. She will come back (eventually). This _is _a Bell x Artemis fanfiction, and if it wasn't you guys can sue me for false advertisement. xD**

**SDS: Thanks!**

**FeathersLight210: Thanks! (Some of the things I would like to cover in this response will be below, so take a look at it.)**

**Kept123: Thank _you _for taking the time to read it and review!**

**I want to apologise that the pace for these chapters will be slowing down a bit, as I'm starting a new fanfiction (It's one for RWBY, if you want to look at it, it's on my profile.) If anyone has any questions, queries or suggestions, go ahead and PM me or put it in your review, I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Just don't ask for spoilers, it's not happening.**

** A massive thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed this chapter. Sorry about the grammatical mistakes, and hope to see you next time!**

**(God, this chapter is like one-third AN.)**


	9. The Ruler of the Seas

Bell sat on a bench, eating a jamagrakun. It was sweet, and oily, but it still tasted amazing.

Beside him, leaning on his bench, was his red sword.

"What do I do now?" He muttered to himself as he looked at the towering tower of Babel, "No, I already know what."

Standing up, he grabbed his sword before starting his long walk to the dungeon.

–––

Bell's blade cleaved through another ogre, causing it to explode into black dust.

But as one fell, more approached.

"This… is so heavy." Bell muttered, "And.I barely have any mind anyway, so my spells are practically useless."

An Ogre roared before swinging its club down. Bell jumped to the side before running up the club and leapt over the ogre's head, stabbing his sword through its brains.

"I can't use this sword properly." Bell muttered, "Guess I have no choice."

White light flickered in his hand.

"Slash of the Fallen Angel!" Bell shouted as his blade was momentarily covered with dark energy, sending it out in a massive arc that cut all of his enemies down.

"Urgh–" Bell groaned, falling to the ground, leaning on his sword, "That… took more mind than I would've expected."

Leaping towards the final ogre, he cut it into small pieces.

"i still am significantly stronger than a normal person…" Bell muttered, "Probably the same level as a level one in terms of physical capability."

––––

"Run!" A person screamed as he sprinted past Bell, "There's a baby dragon monster party!"

Baby dragons.

One of the most dangerous monsters in the upper floors, heralded as the death of level one adventurers.

"I don't have a choice, huh?" Bell muttered, before raising his hand.

"Fly straight and strike true, holy arrow. Let the spear of light streak across the heavens, illuminating the light of the lower world. I am the heir of Arte––" Bell froze, and the gathering magic in his hands stop growing, "I… can't do it."

"Shit–" Bell screamed, as he enveloped himself in a magic barrier.

The next moment, and explosion destroyed the tenth floor, once and for all.

–––

~The Twilight Manor, Loki Familia.

"Finn!" Riveria yelled before kicking open the door to his study, "We've got an emergency."

"What?" Finn said, standing up.

"The dungeon's been… destroyed." Riveria told him, "The tenth floor has just disappeared. Not even the dungeon could heal itself."

"What?!" Finn grabbed his spear, "Gather Gareth, Tiona, Tione, Bete and Aiz. We're going down."

Riveria nodded before walking out of the door.

–––

~Dungeon, 9th floor.

"Okay everyone, were heading down now." Finn announced, "Our priority is to find any survivors, but if possible, recover any clues that may help our investigation."

Everyone nodded before charging through the doorway.

–––

There was no ground for them to hit. The floor of the dungeon had been completely destroyed, and the executives of Loki familia fell through the air.

"We're landing soon! Everyone, be ready. We don't know what might have appeared, but I can say with confidence that it won't be good! Finn shouted over the roaring wind.

They landed on the white grass of the 11th floor, and immediately looked around.

"There!" Aiz shouted as she saw something from the side of her vision, "I see someone."

Green wind covered her body as she leapt out and caught Bell, who was falling, unconscious.

–––

Bell stirred.

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a hospital bed, again.

"Where… am I?" He muttered, glancing around the room.

"You are in Dian Cecht's infirmary." A voice said as it pushed open the curtain around his bed, "You've been here for a few hours already,"

"I… see…" Bell said to himself, "What about…" He motioned towards the dungeon.

"It's fine." Airmid said, "But the dungeon might have to be temporarily closed down while it heals itself."

"Okay…" Bell said, lying down.

"By the way, you have visitors." Airmid said as she walked out, "I'll send them in now, seeing that you're awake.

_Visitors?_

"Hello there, Cranell-san." The pallum said as he pushed open the curtain, again.

"Loki familia… Finn Deimne." Bell muttered.

"Yes, that's me. Now, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding the… incident on the 10th floor."

"Sure." Bell replied, "Ask away."

"First." Finn started, "Why is the dungeon not regenerating? If it doesn't at all that would make it very dangerous for beginners."

"It will." Bell replied, "The dungeon runs on arcanum. It uses that energy to heal itself, as well as to create monsters. If you are able to get rid of the arcanum on one floor, the dungeon will stop regenerating and spawning monsters will it tries to gather it."

"I see. Second, how did you do that?"

"I was trying to cast a magic spell." Bell muttered, giving a small chuckle, "But I guess you could say it kind of blew up in my face, huh?"

"Third. Why were you trying to cast magic of that caliber on such a high floor?"

"That…" Bell sighed, "Do you have some status thief?"

"Yeah." Finn pulled a bottle of the red liquid out of his pocket.

Bell put a few drops on his back.

"Look."

Finn did.

"There's… nothing." Finn said, shocked, "What happened?"

Bell sighed, "Gone."

"What? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Bell said, "Go to Loki and tell her these words: Antares and Orion. She'll know."

Finn nodded, "I'll leave you alone now."

"Thank… you."

–––

A few minutes after Finn left, the curtains rustled again.

"Come in." Bell answered weakly.

The curtain was pulled aside and Aiz walked in.

"I have a few questions for you."

"Oh great, is this interrogate Bell day?" Bell said sarcastically, "Ask away."

'"How much do you know about the black dragon?" Aiz asked, a stoic demeanour on her face.  
Bell froze.

"Why is that information of value to you?" Bell asked.

"If you tell me, I'll explain to you." Aiz said back.

"Ah, the classic you first strategy." Bell said, "But fine, I'll tell you. How much do you know about the Zeus familia?"

"How is that–"

"Just wait. Answer the question."

"They were one of the most prominent familia's to have ever existed. It is said that they had a level 8."

"That's not a lot, huh?"

Aiz nodded, "The guild restricts most information about them."

"Do you know why they disappeared?"

"No. All I know is that their forces were harmed badly enough so that they could be driven out of Orario."

"I see." Bell shook his head, "Can you hold my hand for a second?"

Aiz looked puzzled for a minute, before touching her hand to his.

The next moment, the world turned white.

–––

"Where am I?" Aiz looked around.

"You are in my memories." Aiz turned around to a voice behind her, and saw Bell, "And, _this, _is how the Zeus and Hera familia's were defeated."

Aiz turned around.

"Isn't this… the palace of death?"

"You already know about it, then? Do you know why it's called that?"

Aiz shook her head.

"The black dragon is the manifestation of a very simple concept – death." Bell explained, "Life will not exist in its presence. It either runs away, or is killed. The reason why this is called the palace of death is because the moment you enter, you _are _dead."

Aiz stared at him in silence.

"The black dragon is a special entity." Bell continued, "It's a divine construct."

Aiz froze. "Wha–"

"That is to say, it lives off Arcanum." Bell interrupted her, "A very long time ago, the black dragon succeeded in devouring a spirit. Yes, Aria. The spirit of wind."

Ignoring any comments or questions Aiz had, Bell continued.

"If you didn't know, spirits also have arcanum. Your wind is powered by it. The black dragon obtained the power of eternal life. Then, it devoured another spirit. The spirit of dreams, Aria." Bell paused, "My mother. The black dragon _feasts _of the nightmares of humans, using the miasma to power itself. The stronger the person, the more power it gains. It's been building up power ever since it escaped the dungeon."

"Right now, it's closer to immortality than the gods of our world, who sacrificed their arcanum."

–––

~In the middle of the night.

Bell stood up, grabbing his sword with his right hand. He pushed open the infirmary door, and prepared to head out again.

"Where might you be going?" Riveria Ljos Alf, also known as Nine Hell, or the sub-leader of the Loki familia.

"The dungeon. Why are you here?"

"Finn told me to watch out for you in case you did something stupid like running into the dungeon _without armour._"

"This is how I've always fought." Bell replied back.

"I see. So that suicidal recklessness of yours is common." Riveria replied, "Before you go, I have something to say to you. While you may be ready to throw your one life out of the window, remember that there are still those who care about you."

"No." Bell replied, "They're all dead."

–––

~A few hours ago.

"Loki, I have a few questions." Finn said to Loki.

"I thought you were interrogating the rabbit."

"I did, and he left me with more questions than I did when I walked in."

"So, why are you _here_?"

"Well, he said that you were the only one around who could answer these questions. He told me to tell you two words: Antares and Orion. Care to explain?"

Loki sighed.

"Finn, you know the second moon that appeared in the sky a while ago?"

Finn nodded.

"That was arcanum. More specifically, Artemis's arrow. While I don't know the specifics, Antares devoured Artemis, and gained nearly full access to her arcanum. But with the last vestiges of her power, Artemis called her final trump card to our world – Orion, the arrow that could kill gods."

"Kill gods?!"

"That's right. The arrow had already accepted Bell, so he was naturally chosen to wield it." Loki paused, "But he had to bear with the responsibilities that came with it."

"He had to murder a goddess."

–––

~Dungeon, Frontier.

"I've never been here before." Bell muttered as he looked around the cavern, "Is it a frontier?"

"Light." Bell muttered, and a flash filled the room with light, illuminating it.

The room itself looked terrifying. Bloodied corpses littered the entire room, and there were signs that a monster had been _eating _the corpses.

Bell heard a small movement behind his back, and instinctively ducked.

The next moment, an iron chain whistled over his head, and the enemy was revealed.

"A minotaur." Bell smiled, "Bring it, asshole."

Letting out a war cry, he ran towards the minotaur, sword raised.

–––

The minotaur roared, swinging its chain at Bell. Bell jumped to the side, and continued to run forward.

He attempted to slash the minotaur with his sword, but the heavy armour would not allow him to deal any significant damage.

"Well then." Bell muttered, "This isn't the best of days for this to happen, but I'm probably the only person who would stick around on the lower floors that can take him, and I'm pretty sure there's no escape route anyway. And– OH SHIT—" Bell spun around and flipped over the chain that had come back around and was about to take his head off.

_The chain is a problem, but the main thing is that I can't pierce its armour. I need an opening._

Then, Bell realised.

_The head._

_There's no armour on the head, but the problem is, it has its horns and its teeth, making it a dangerous place to attack._

"Dammit, guess I've got no choice." Bell raised his hand, and white and blue light condensed around it, "Fire lance!"

A jet of white flame shot out of his hand, hitting the centre of the Minotaur's chest. The flame expanded, wreathing its body in an X-shape.

Bell ran in, dodging the chain. Just as he was about to stab his sword through its chest, a hand shot out and grabbed him by his head, before throwing him into a wall.

Bell landed on the ground with a thud.

"Bitch." Bell muttered, spitting on the ground, "You really want to get decapitated, huh."

Bell changed his sword stance, holding it high in the air and twisting it so that it faced his opponent""".

_The dancing dragon blade style._

_It was a very, very, ancient swordsmanship technique. It was extremely hard to master, but those who did, were able to gain vast power._

_Bell's father was the first person in at least a century to fully master it._

_A 7 year old Bell was the second._

_"Blade song." _One of the the minotaur's arms flew off.

Bell caught it in one hand before throwing it on the floor and trodding on it with his foot.

"That's revenge for everyone that you have killed." Bell said, glaring at him. The playful smile in his face had faded, replaced with a cold desire for blood.

"Fly straight and strike true, holy arrow. " Bell chanted,"Let the spear of light streak across the heavens, illuminating the light of the lower world._"_

Before he could finish the chant, the minotaur charged forward, recognising him as a threat.

But Bell _didn't _finish his chant.

As the minotaur drew near, he ducked down and pressed his hand to its chest.

"Focus… Arcanum ray." A ray of pure light blasted a hole through the minotaur's chest, before hitting the dungeon walls and destroying that as well.

The light reached the top of the sky, shooting all the way to the heavens before disappearing.

In the oceans, an ancient monster stirred.

–––

~Port Meren.

"Skip Njoror!" Rod, the leader of the Njord familia, shouted as he smashed the door to Njord's room open.

"What?"

"The ocean…"

"Speak up!"

"The ocean is screaming! Send a message to Orario!"

–––

~Orario, 10 minutes later.

The guild bell ran as an announcement made its way through Orario.

"Citizens. Red alert. Red alert. Stay within your houses, and do _not _come out until the problem has been resolved. Loki familia, Freya familia. The supreme god wants you to move to port Meren, as fast as possible."

–––

~Twilight Manor.

"What could be so dangerous that the guild would want both us _and _the Freya familia to work together?" Finn thought to himself as they prepared to leave.

–––

~Babel.

Bell heard the alert, and knew it could only mean one thing.

"Fuck." Bell swore, "I'm not ready yet."

He turned around. First, he looked at Babel, where the goddess Freya resided.

Then, he looked at the guild, where he knew he would find Ouranos.

Finally, he looked at the Twilight Manor, where he would find Loki.

Bell sighed.

He turned to the twilight manor and started running.

–––

~5 minutes later.

Bell hit the ground in front of the gates.

He took out his sword, and clanged it loudly against the door twice.

"What?" Loki said, walking out, "They've already left."

"No, I need to ask you to do something." Bell asked back.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Oh, nothing that hard." Bell said, "I just need a drop of ichor and a falna again."  
"And why me?"

"Because you seem like the person who would be most likely to oblige."

Loki sighed.

He wasn't wrong.  
–––

_Drip.  
_A single drop of ichor ran down Bell's back, and his falna flashed.

Name: Bell Cranel

Familia: Loki Familia

Level: 2

Stats:

Strength: I 0

Endurance: I 0

Dexterity: I 0

Agility: I 0

Magic: I 0

Hunter: S

Immunity: S

Pummel: S

Healing Power: S

Mage: S

Magic:

Sacred Arrow.

Skills:

Dreamer:

\- Can cast any spell, as long as the effects can be visualised, in exchange for more mana usage.

Imminent:

\- No chant is needed to cast a spell, in exchange for more mana usage.

Argonaut:

\- Can charge up to 1 minutes. Used to power either a physical or magical attack of any sort.

Goddess Killer:

Gets stronger when fighting divine enemies.

"Thank you." Bell said, before grabbing his sword.

"Wait!" Loki shouted, "You're only level 2 right now, what are you planning?"

Bell smiled.

"Well, why don't you update my falna again." His sword glowed with a blinding flash of red light.

Loki did.

–––

Name: Bell Cranel

Familia: Artemis Familia

Level: 10

Stats:

Strength: I 0

Endurance: I 0

Dexterity: I 0

Agility: I 0

Magic: I 0

Hunter: S

Immunity: S

Pummel: S

Healing Power: S

Mage: S

Magic:

Sacred Arrow.

Skills:

Dreamer:

\- Can cast any spell, as long as the effects can be visualised, in exchange for more mana usage.

Imminent:

\- No chant is needed to cast a spell, in exchange for more mana usage.

Argonaut:

\- Can charge up to 10 minutes. Used to power either a physical or magical attack of any sort.

Liaris Freese EX++:

\- Rapid growth.

\- Lasts as long as emotions do.

Black Hatred:

\- Gets powered up when there is hatred directed at the one-eyed black dragon. Effects will vary depending on level of hatred.

Lost Time:

Gets powered up when reminded of the Zeus familia.

Saviour:

Stage 1: Allows for parallel argonaut charges. Locked Locked

Boss Killer:

Gets stronger when fighting powerful monsters, such as Monster Rex's.

Magic Trace:

Can cast any magic that has been seen before.

Goddess Killer:

Gets stronger when fighting divine enemies

"Thank you." Bell said, and then disappeared.

–––

"What the hell is this thing?! I can't even cut it with my Urga!" Tiona shouted, swinging at the gigantic serpent's scales with her gigantic weapon.  
"The leviathan." Aiz replied, "On of the three disasters."

"You mean that creepy snake thing from Dungeon Oratoria?"

"Yes." Aiz replied before jumping back, "Dodge!"

The leviathan opened its mouth and let out a massive blast of lightning.

The executives jumped out of the way, but the leviathan smacked them with its tail.

Aiz flew up in the air, and the leviathan opened its massive maw.

"Not happening, asshole." A voice sounded beside her ear, and the leviathan was sent crashing back into the water, "Sorry for being late."

Bell Cranell had arrived.

–––

The leviathan was shocked.

Who was that human? For a mortal to have so much power. It was inexplainable! Its mother had ordered it to eradicate all life, and so, it would.

It burst out of the water, ready to resume its attack.

–––

"Stay back." Bell said, not turning his head.

"Why? That thing's too dangerous for you to take on."

"No." Bell replied, "No, it isn't."

The next moment, the leviathan burst out of the water.

And Bell disappeared, appearing behind the leviathan faster than the executives could blink. With a single stroke, he chopped off one of the leviathan's fangs.

–––

"Fire ray!" Bell shouted as he shot of a beam of fire at the leviathan's neck.

The leviathan swerved to avoid it, before diving into the water.

"Watch out!" Aiz screamed, seeing what it was doing.

Bell smiled.

"Cloak of the Behemoth."

A cloak of burning flames covered his body.

"I really, really, didn't want to use this." Bell said as the flames covered his whole body, "But you leave me no choice."

The leviathan roared.

It recognised this power.

This was… its mothers.

_Could that mean–_

–––

Bell ran down the side of the leviathan, slashing at its scales with his sword.

"These scales are such a pain in the ass." Bell muttered.

He jumped off the leviathan, jumping back to land.

"_Burn, flames! Vortex of fire! The crimson wall! Hellfire's roar! May the ardor of the gale plunge the world into grief and misery! The sky shall burn! The earth shall ignite! The seas shall boil! The fonts shall churn! The mountains shall erupt! All life shall turn to ash! May the lives of the great ones serve as atonement for the coming choler and grief! Your envoy beseeches you, Salamander! Incarnate of fire! Queen of flame! Fire storm!_" A massive pillar of fire hit one of the the leviathan's scales, burning it to ash.

"_Dance light! Illuminate even the darkest of places! Shine with the glow of a million fireflies! Eternal light, cast away the darkness! Your envoy beseeches you, Lux! Incarnate of light! Queen of illumination!_" Bell chanted, "_Light of a thousand!_"

Balls of energy littered the sky.

The focused on a single point, bombarding it with explosions.

The hard skin casing completely faded away.

Flipping around, Bell plunged his sword into the skin.

The leviathan let out a shriek and thrashed around, but could not shake Bell off.

"Air bubble." A small bubble of air enclosed Bell's head as he was dragged underwater.

He knew, underwater was where the battle truly started.

And where it ended.

–––

"Lightning!" Bell shouted in his air bubble.

Lightning was the most effective underwater weapon, as it could attack from all directions.

Unfortunately, the leviathan knew this, and also could breathe lightning, which made Bell erect a barrier around him at all times.

"Magic trace!" Bell said, "Breath of the leviathan."

An orb of lightning appeared in the water, and dissipated before the beam would fire. The rampant electricity killed all life in the vicinity, exempting Bell and the leviathan.

The leviathan noticed that the boy was copying his moves, and deemed not to use anything new.

But there was one thing it failed to notice.

That a very, very dangerous storm was brewing.

A very special one, at that.

–––

The leviathan surged out of the water, bring Bell with it.

Bell landed on the grass, before charging again disappearing in a flash of light.

His red blade clashed with the leviathan's open skin, tearing it.

In a flash, the head flew off.

–––

As the executives of the Loki Familia celebrated, Bell shouted, "Wait! It's not over yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you think that thing was a sea serpent?"

"Uh, kind of?" Tiona said, scratching her head.

"It's a hydra."

The next moment, the leviathan splashed out of the water again, this time with two heads in the place of one.

"See? Told ya."

"How do we kill it?" Aiz asked.

"_We_ don't do anything. _I _kill it." Bell replied.

"What?" Aiz asked, not sure what he was talking about.

"Sorry if I sound like an asshole, but you guys will only slow me down if I have to protect all of you as well."

With another flash, Bell disappeared, jumping and landing on the leviathan.

He stabbed his sword in the open wound before chanting.

"Lightning." A jolt of electricity ran down the leviathan, "Chrono Warp!"

Bell sped up, cleaving a massive line as he ran down the"" leviathan's body, his sword still stuck inside.

The tail suddenly surged, grabbed him, and pulled him underwater.

The next moment, Bell's vision went black.

–––

_"Where am I?" Bell said as he looked around._

_"Bell."_

_He turned around to the source of the voice._

_"Grandpa?" Bell said, facing his aged grandparent, "How are you here?"_

_"Of course, I'm here to talk to you!" Zeus said, "Ouranos granted me my arcanum again, temporarily, so I could have a quick chat."_

_"I see." Bell said, "What did you want to talk about?"_

_"Child, do you know why we took on the black dragon when we did?"_

_"Because that was when you were at your peak?"_

_"No. We could have gotten a lot stronger, but we chose to forgo it. The reason is that we had to stop the black dragon before it unlocked its full potential."_

_"Full potential? You mean that wasn't at its strongest?"_

_"Of course not. That dragon was nothing more than a hatchling, albeit a very strong one. A few thousand years is nothing for a dragon, Bell."_

_"Is this the only reason why you are here? Because if that is, then I have to go."_

_"There is one last thing." Zeus said, "Bell, your hand."_

_Bell reached out with his hand, before Zeus placed an object in his hand._

_"When you need it, channel mind into it."_

_"Thank you." Bell said, looking stricken._

–––

Bell's eyes flashed open.

He was still underwater.

His sword was still tightly gripped in his hand.

After taking a moment to calm himself down. he threw his sword straight into one of the leviathan's eyes.

Screeching in pain, it released Bell.

Moving to its eye, Bell grabbed his sword before leaping out of the water.

The leviathan surged out, smashing into the piece of land that Bell was standing on.

But he wasn't.

He was floating in the air.

And the leviathan looked up, and no longer saw the sun.

Instead, it saw a maelstrom of blue and white light.

"_Judgement of the heavens._" Bell chanted, "_Punish thy who would dare to forsake thee, Every flash, every roar of thunder is yours. Divine punishment, light up their soul!_"

In his hand, an all-too familiar jagged spear like object appeared.

"_Master bolt, weapon of the strongest god! Grant me your power!_"

The white and blue light in the sky condensed around the weapon.

Bell threw the weapon.

"Heavenly Smite!"

It hit the leviathan, and a massive shock ran down its body. Even the members of the Loki Familia could feel it.

The next moment, the leviathan rose out of the water.

As if drawn by an invisible force, it remained rooted to a spot in the sky.

The sky turned black.

A twisting storm appeared, and the centre of it was facing the leviathan.

A rain of lightning blasted the leviathan in every possible place, searing of its scales.

Finally, the centre widened, and a single ball of concentrated energy appeared.

A blast of lightning filled the sky, so big that it could be seen all the way from Orario.

The next moment, all the windows of Port Meren shattered.

And the leviathan was burnt to ash.

As the ashes fell into the water, Bell smiled.

"Directed Arcanum Ray!" A blast of white light completely incinerated the remains of the leviathan, and nothing was left.

–––

As the leviathan disappeared, Bell dispelled his levitation magic, and jumped to the ground.

Landing on the ground, he looked around at the members of the Loki Familia.

The cheerful demeanour on their faces had disappeared.

"Where's Aiz?"

* * *

**AN: First, let me get this out of the way. I really liked this chapter. For those of you who want to know what the "hole in the sky thing" that Heavenly Thunder makes, it looks similar to what it looks like when Artosh appears in no game no life zero. Bell learns how to use arcanum rays! Cool. Okay, onto the reviews.**

**Guest: Yes, I know. Even if it didn't seem like that, it's still a level one fighting a level 5 monster.**

**Beatshield: Why thank you! I do my best.**

**Okay, this chapter was about 5000 words. See you next time!**

**(On that note, we've nearly hit 100 followers! (Currently sitting on 99 xD). As a celebration for 100 followers, what do you guys want to see? A valentines thing? A 10 year time-skip thing with Bell and Artemis? Hit me with all your ideas, and I'll write out some of them! See you next time!)**


	10. The Remnants of the Greatest Familia

~While Bell was fighting the Leviathan.

"Everyone, while he's fighting the leviathan, form an emergency line, as well as help to evacuate the citizens!" Finn shouted, "Be ready to fight any monsters that appear–"

As he said that, the ground shook as a viola rose out of the water, followed by more.

"Get ready!"

–––

"Awaken, Tempest!" Aiz shouted as she sped through the swarm of monsters, killing them as she moved. Touches of black were starting to cover her green wind.

"Hah!" Tiona and Tione shouted in unison as the cut through the monsters as well with their respective weapons.

"Arcs ray!" Lefiya casted her spell, and the beam of light blasted several incoming monsters to dust.

As sudden as the viola's, black robed humans started appearing, charging towards them.

"Get her!"

_Her? _Finn thought, _…Aiz?_

His hunch was correct. Completely ignoring the members of the Loki Familia, they charged past them, aiming solely for Aiz.

Aiz twirled through their ranks, cutting them down.

While they were a maximum of level 4, they had the advantage of sheer numbers. That alone put Aiz at a disadvantage.

As she swung her sword again, it was met with a clanging sound as it had a weapon that seemed as if it was made out of plants.

The moment of shock was quickly blasted away as the sword was swung again, sending Aiz flying backwards.

"Guh–!" Desperate drew a line through the ground as Aiz used it to halt her movement.

The cloak slipped off.

"Revis–" Aiz muttered with a distinct hatred.

The monster-human fusion simply charged forward again, smashing Aiz back into the air.

"Tempest!" Aiz yelled.

"Everyone, move to protect Aiz!" Finn yelled, but was a moment too late.

A cloud of gas filled the air.

"This poison…" Finn muttered as he sniffed the air, before screaming, "All adventurers with a resistance of below F, immediately evacuate! Anybody with above that, follow me."

Finn charged into the smoke, his spears glinting.

The next instant, the cloud cleared.

Revis was gone.

So was Aiz.

–––

"I see…" Bell said after he heard the recount, "And who is this Revis person, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Fine… You'll find out eventually anyway." Finn replied, "She's a sort of fusion between a human and a monster. She has a magic stone and "can eat them to grow more powerful."

Bell sighed, "How the hell did something like this happen?"

"We're not sure, but apparently, someone named Enyo is involved."

"Enyo…" Bell muttered, "Why odes that sound so familiar?" He shook his head, "Any clues about her whereabouts?"

"Yes." Finn replied, 'But you have to swear yourself to secrecy."

Bell nodded.

"There is an… underground labyrinth known as Knossos." Finn said, "It's an extremely complex maze full of traps and monsters. It has orichalcum doors and the walls are admantium."

"That's no problem, then." Bell said, "Where is it?"

"It'll be faster if I show you."

–––

~Daedalus street.

"Here?" Bell asked.

"Yes. The labyrinth is just beyond the door."

Bell smiled.

"Then… this will be easy. Stand back."

His blade started to glow red as he started chanting a spell.

"_Rise, ashes. Formate into your new form. You are a phoenix, a firebird. An immortal being of creation and destruction, of life and death._"

A hint of shock covered Riveria's face.

"_Rise, emperor of the flames. You will not falter, for in failure, you will be reborn. A haunted vigil bestowed upon you. I release thee._"

A gigantic coat of flames surrounded his blade.

The flames seemed to mould together, into what would be a massive lance.

"Red Phoenix: Quarter Force." Bell said as white and blue light surrounded the lance as well.

The glowing lance hit the door at full force. There was a moment of pause before the door starting melting.

The next moment, the lance blasted a massive hole through the door, and a torrent of fire swallowed the monsters behind it.

"How…" Rivera muttered, "How can you cast that spell?"

Bell raised his sword.

"All of it lies here." He replied, "The spells of every single one of them."

He then turned to face the incoming monsters, and his blade glowed again.

"_Rise, ashes. Formate into your new form. You are a phoenix, an icebird. An immortal being of creation and destruction, of life and death. Rise, cold queen of ice. You will not falter, for in failure, you will be reborn. A haunted vigil bestowed upon you. I release thee."_

Ice started forming around the blade, creating a misty aura.

"White Phoenix: Quarter Force!" A massive "blast of frost cold air shot out of the blade at supersonic speed, and instantly froze because of its own temperature the moment it came out, but not before reaching the monsters and turning them all into icicles as well.

"He was your brother, right?" Bell said, looking at Riveria, "Argus Ljos Alf."

–––

~Ten years ago.

"Argus-nii-san, will you show me that cool magic of yours again?" A young Bell asked as he ran in circles around the jade-haired elf.

"No problem, little Bell." The elf replied, "Let's take a walk, shall we?"

"Okay!"

–––

"Blue Phoenix: Eighth Force!" The elf, Argus, shouted as a wave of water blasted out of his blade, the sheer force of it slamming into the monsters instantly killing them.

"So cool!" Bell shouted, eyes twinkling.

"Mhm. One day, you will be able to master this yourself!" Argus said as he poked Bell on the nose, "And hopefully never let your guard down like that again." His sword seemed to fly through the air as it was stabbed into a a kobold, instantly killing it.

"Hey Bell, did I ever tell you about my family?"

Bell shook his head.

"My mother was a valiant soldier, but was never blessed with a falna, and the same went for my father. Together, they defeated many powerful monsters and there stories were told across the land of the elves." Argus started.

"Both of them being high elves, they married, and ruled across the land of the elves, Elvengard."

**(AN: I genuinely have no idea what the land of the elves is called, my apologies.)**

"And they had two children. Me, and my sister."

"When I was young, my parents treated me with all the love and adoration they had, along with my sister. It was the happiest we could ever be."

Argus bit his lip.

"But one day, a monster appeared in the forest. It was a horrifying creature, rivalling a level 5 in strength. All the elves fought it together, but we were no match for it, and my mother was slain. I fought as well, and nearly had both my eyes gouged out."

_–––_

_"Your majesty, please run!" An elf screamed as he rushed towards the monster. He too, was mercilessly torn apart._

_"No!" Argus yelled, angered by the death of his friend before grabbing a sword from on of the fallen and charging as well._

_The beast swiped its claws through the airs, and Argus leapt back, but slightly too late. There was a squelching sound as the claws tore through his eyes._

_"Guh–" Argus said as he was knocked back, before looking at his sister, "Run!"_

_"No!" Riveria cried before latching onto his hand, "I'm not going to leave you. Luna Aldis!"_

_She casted her healing spell on his eyes, hoping that they could recover._

_"Haha…" Argus chuckled, "You really are persistent, aren't you?"_

_"I learnt that from my brother." She shot back, starting to laugh a bit as well._

_A sister and a brother, laughing in the face of death._

_The next moment, a red line appeared on the monsters body, and the sound of a blade flying through the air could be heard._

_The strongest monster, one who had killed thousands and nearly burned the forests of Elvengard, was slain with one stroke._

_"Are you okay?" The person said, walking over to them, "I'm Albert Waldstein."_

–––

"A few years after that, I convinced my father to let me come to Orario, to become an adventurer, and so I did. After a few weeks, I joined this familia, and here I am now." Argus said, smiling, "Hey Bell. If you ever meet my sister, please tell her that I'm happy for her."

Bell nodded.

–––

~Present Time

"…" After Bell finished retelling his story, the group was silent for a while.

"So…" Riveria asked hesitantly, "Is he still… alive?"

"No." The reply was fast, cold and harsh, "He was also killed."

"I… I see…"

"But right now, we have more urgent matters at hand." Bell said as he looked at the incoming enemies.

"Those are… the remnants of Evilus!" Finn realised, "They use suicide bombing techniques."

"No problem." Bell said, raising his sword, "Null… magic."

The flame orbs exploded.

"Where do we go?" Bell asked, looking around.

"We have no idea. We were forced out before we could properly map it."

"Fine, fine, fine." Bell said, "Trace Human!"

A massive magic circle covered the entire floor.

"Nope, she's not here. My best guess is that she's somewhere on the lower floors."

"I see. We should head down, then?"

"Right. But final question, what do they want with Aiz anyway?"

Finn paused.

"Fine, I'll tell you." He started, "How much do you know about the mercenary king Albert Waldstein?"

–––

"She's a… demi-spirit?" Bell exclaimed in shock, "But even if they did have a spirit, what would they do with it? Aiz isn't strong enough right now, she hasn't even awakened."

"They are not trying to use her power. The remnants of Evilus are in possession of a… corrupted spirit, as you saw on the 59th floor. They want to _feed _her to it, to make it stronger." Finn answered, "But that's my best guess."

"That's really, really bad." Bell said, "A spirit with two attributes? Something with that power could… destroy Orario."

"Exactly. Which is why we're trying to stop it while we still can."

"Then… we'd better hurry."

–––

They ran down the stairs.

Bell burnt all the monsters that they met along the way to ashes, ensuring their fast movement.

"We're on the 8th floor now." Bell said, "We should be nearing the demi-spirits."

"They're enticed by spirit energy."

"I see. So then…" Bell raised his sword, "Awaken, Tempest."

Green wind appeared around him.

The next moment, the floor rumbled.

"Aria…" A voice rang through the floor.

"Shit!" Bell yelled as a wall of oddly shaped flesh started closing in.

"This isn't good." Gareth yelled as he looked around.

"Please stall for a bit of time." Bell asked, not seeing if the executives nodded or not before closing his eyes.

–––

"_Bell! Wake up!_" _His mother had said to him, lightly slapping him on his face, "You're going to be late to breakfast!"_

_"Ah, you're awake? Good." His father had said, from his position next to the bed._

_"Ah, ignore him. He's really glad to see your face."_

_"What the hell? That's creepy!" His father protested._

_The scene flickered._

_Darkness._

_Indomitable, unbeatable darkness._

_Death._

_That was what the black dragon was._

_"Bell… run…" His father had said, coughing up a fit of blood as he had blocked the claw with his own body, "Know that… me and your mother… will always be with y–"_

_And then everything went black._

_–––_

White and black light swirled around Bell's entire body.

"Move!" He yelled as the light formed into one small orb.

The next moment, the light expanded, destroying all the flesh in an instant.

"What… was that?"

"Oh…" Bell smiled weakly, "Just a skill of mine. We have to hurry."

He sprinted down the open path.

The Evilus remnants poured out of the corridors, charging at them.

"For our drea––" Before they could even finish their screams, they were all perfectly bisected from the waist up.

Bell continued moving without a care for what he had just done.

A crack appeared in the walls, before it completely shattered.

"That's… a demi-spirit!" Tiona and Tione both exclaimed at the same time.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME, YOU FAKER!" Bell screamed as he continued running.

"Light up the skies, banish the dark. Your envoy beseeches you, Lux! Light of purification!" The demi-spirit chanted its short-chant spell, unleashing a beam of light straight at Bell.

But Bell continued running. Through the ray of light.

"Forest of Dreams!" Bell instantly released his spell. A hazy mist surrounded the area, and Bell disappeared.

The next moment, he appeared behind the spirit, but his sword was blocked by a swarm of tentacles.

"This is… weaker than the one on the 59th floor." Bell realised, "Is it a newborn?"

The monster let out a screech as tentacles shot forward, aiming for Bell.

"Flash."

Bell disappeared, teleporting a slight distance away from where he just was.

He ran up the tentacles, slicing them into pieces as he moved.

"I've got better things to deal with then you!" Bell shouted as he severed the tentacles, "So just screw off!"

An explosion rocked the room.

–––

~Knossos.

"Hmm? Gulganna's gone?" Revis muttered as she sat on the floor.

"Yes, lady Revis."

"I see. I'm heading out." Revis said as she stood up, walking through a hidden corridor, "Finally… it's coming to fruition."

–––

"Hah!" Bell cleaved through more swarms of Virga as he ran down the corridor without care, "Why is this floor so big?"

The next moment, a crashing sound filled the room as one of the walls were destroyed.

"Fuck." Bell said as he raised his sword.

"Watch out Bell! That's Revis, the monster human we told you about." Finn warned as he raised his spear and got ready.

"Her?" Bell squinted his eyes to get a better look through the darkness, before freezing, "Sivilia?"

Revis smiled, "Well, if it isn't young Cranell."

"You… you…" Bell started, "What are you doing here?"

"Hmm, what a mystery." Revis said, chuckling as she raised a sword, "Exactly what you think I'm doing."

Bell's red eyes started glowing, turning crimson.

The next moment, his blade smashed into Revis's, sending her flying across the room.

"Bell, what's going on? How do you know her?" Finn asked.

"She…" Bell said, pointing his blade at Revis, "Was a member of the Zeus familia."

Shock filled the room.

"Executive, actually." Revis said, smiling.

"No." Bell said, "Or at least, you won't be after the next 5 minutes."

He ran forward again, leaving behind a scarlet trail of light.

The two blades clashed, letting out ringing sounds that reverberated through the room.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

The same sounds ensued every time the two blades collided, and Bell and Revis continued their conversation.

"Why the hell would you side with them? You know EXACTLY what they're trying to do!" Bell screamed.

"Correct! That's why I'm doing it, you fool!"

"Why would you do that?! You know first-hand how horrifying that thing is!"

"Exactly! That's why I'm helping it!"

"Are you retarded? If that thing destroys Orario, we're all screwed!"

"Correction: You'll all be screwed, I won't."

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

The two crashed into a wall, instantly obliterating the admantium surface.

His blade left shimmering arcs in the air, the very air itself trembling.

Black and white light coated his body, vastly increasing his speed.

"You've gotten better." Revis said smiling, "Looks like I'll have to get serious."

A massive clock-like glyph appeared behind her.

"Isn't that–"

"Chrono Warp!" Revis disappeared, charging towards Bell at a much higher speed.

"Guh–" Bell groaned as the blade met its mark, "Dammit!"

"What is that magic?" Riveria muttered, shocked.

"It's the same as mine." Bell responded, "Except it's the original version."

"That means–"

"Indeed." Bell said, "Let me introduce you to one of the Zeus Familia executives, Sivilia, also known as… Chronos."

"What?!"

"A level 7 adventurer, who seemingly went missing during the massacre." Bell said, "Now we know what happened."

"Not bad, kid." Revis said, smiling, "You've gotten better."

"You don't have a right to call me that!" Bell screamed. The black and white light started expanding, finally covering his entire body, "Just disappear already! You monster!"

"Well, you've certainly grown." Revis teased, a slight smirk on her face as she danced around the room.

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Bell screamed as he ramped the speed of his attacks up, again.

The blade knocked Revis's sword out of her hand, and it drew an arc through the air as it landed on a wall.

"ACCELERATION!" As Bell moved, blue trails appeared in the air behind him, forming a myriad of illusions.

The blood red blade found its place within Revis's magic stone.

With a small _crack _sound, it shattered.

"Well…"

"Not bad, kid."

And then she exploded into a cloud of black dust.

"Huff… Huff…" Bell leaned against a wall as he tried to steady his breathing, "Sivilia… why?"

Then, as if overcome by some fit, he grabbed his sword and stuck it into a wall.

Magic flowed out of it, reaching every corner of the floor.

"Everyone, get to the floor below."

"Huh? Why?"

"_I'm very, very pissed, so I need to let out some steam before I brutally mutilate someone's corpse._" He said it firmly, without any hesitation or any sign of humour in it.

Quietly, all the members of Loki Family slunk away onto the next floor.

And then the magic in the walls exploded.

–––

"Sir! We've lost contact with Revis." A masked person said as he entered a dark room.

"I see…" The cloaked man slowly drawled out, "So you failed, huh?"

"I'm sorry, my liege. It was…"

"No, it's fine. Nothing too big of consequence." He replied, "Get ready. We're proceeding to the final phase."

–––

Bell flashed through the swarms of monsters, cutting them all to pieces.

_Faster._

_Faster._

_Even faster!_

_It's not enough._

_FASTER!_

The voice in his head screamed.

An ominous chill filled the room.

"Taste this…"

A voice sounded from around him.  
"Door of Heaven!"

The walls burst as Bell was surrounded by a circle of six demi-spirits.

Light shot out of the ground, engulfing his entire body.

"Barrier!" Bell managed to make out, but the light washed over it, instantly breaking it.

"DAMMIT ALL!" He screamed as he gripped his sword even more tightly, "_Head of the ancient gorgon. Medusa – The snake who brings fear. Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, guardian of the olive branch. I beseech thee. The final shield… AEGIS!_"

A brilliant shield of yellow lied appeared on the ground in below him. On the shield was engraved the most horrifying face ever.

The light clashed with the shield, but the shield would not relent.

The instant the light faded, Bell moved.

"Ultimate Chrono Warp!"

The next moments the heads of all six demi-spirits flew off.

He disappeared again, running down the corridor.

"I won't let it…" Bell muttered as he ran, "Never again."

The remnants of Evilus stormed into the corridor.

Without hesitating, Bell continued running. He leapt to the wall on the side, before bounding over the entire horde. Without a care, he continued running.

Finally, he found himself in a large room.

"Welcome, Bell." A voice sounded, "Thank you for arriving here."

"This voice…"

Bell froze

"F…fa…father?"

* * *

**AN: Whoo! Another chapter. This one was... somewhat a mixture between so much fun to write and "I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing please help me." In this character, we've introduced two new Zeus Familia Members: Argus, Riveria's brother and level 7, and Revis (Now called Sivilia, if you get rid of the ia at the end and flip it around, you get Livis, and in Japanese, that's written Rivis. Big brain.) Both are level 7.**

**And, the fateful introduction of Bell's father! What on earth could be happening? (His dad is level 8.)**

**Okay, I'm sure you have some questions:**

**Why is Bell becoming some sort of strange killing machine? The answer is quite simple – He's willing to throw his humanity away to stop whatever they are up to, which he seems to know.**

**Why are the Zeus familia members alive? Ha! You really thought I'd tell you? Fool!**

**Anyway, now, onto the reviews.**

**Beatshield: Thanks!**

**Anc1enT: I know. The juggernaut didn't spawn because Bell used Orion, it spawned because of Bell's (I think it's called this) Elemental Wrath.**

**And on that note, the next chapter may or may not take a while to come out – I'm making an omake to celebrate 100 follows! Hope to see you all next time!**


	11. Omake: Rice Balls

**AN: Yes, this is one of those notorious pure AN chapters. Sorry.**

**First off, I want to apologise about the delay in chapter releases: I've been having a bit of writing trouble, as well as with all the coronavirus issues. You know, the normal stuff. Anyway, that's not what I'm here for. (By the way, the Omake is done, which I am posting below.)**

**I am here to announce that I am officially making a discord server for all my stories (or at least, all the danmachi ones), so if you're interested in hanging around and chatting, or have any unanswered questions that you forgot to put in a review and/or are too lazy to PM me, this is where you can go. Not to mention, I'd like to get to know all my readers a bit better. The code is ****jmmXCHb.**

**Anyway, onto the omake:**

**Potato snacks:**

"Hestiaaaaaa." One morning, a certain black-haired goddess heard a voice from beside her.

"Oh! Artemis!" Hestia exclaimed in shock, "What are you doing here?... and why are you crying?"

"B-b...Bell hates me..."Artemis said, clinging onto her arm.

"Of course he doesn't! Why would you think that?" Hestia said. She was well-aware of the situation her friend was in, and desperately tried to comfort her.

"Today morning... when he was going to the dungeon, I made him a lunch..." Artemis said, the significantly taller goddess still clinging onto her arm, "I told him it was his favourite type of food, rice balls, but he said he didn't want any..."

"That's terrible!" Hestia cried, "How could he reject your rice balls? If he doesn't want any, I'll have some."

"Thank you, Hestia! You're the best!" Artemis said, smiling as she brought out the bento box.

Hestia looked at it with gleaming eyes before ripping the cover off and stuffing them in her mouth.

"But Hestia, what am I supposed to do?" Artemis said, the tears starting to fade but still flowing.

"It's okay!" Hestia said, smiling as she puffed out her chest, "This must be what humans call... uh... right! Puberty! It's a sign of Bell's growth!"

"But I don't want Bell to grow into someone who hates me..." Artemis said, sniffling, "I want him to stay cute and adorable forever!"

"Don't worry, Artemis. It's just a phase in life!" Hestia said.

~5 minutes later.

"Excuse me miss, can I please have an Azuki Cream Jamagrakun?" A white haired boy said to Hestia, who was still trying to comfort Artemis.

The said person was under the service desk, curled up into a ball.

"Hey, aren't you Artemis's kid?" Hestia said, looking surprised.

"Yes." Bell replied as he picked up the jamagrakun in his hands and started eating it, "The rice balls she makes me are really disgusting, so I prefer these way more."

The stall nearly exploded as Artemis jumped out, screaming, "BEEEELLLLLLL! YOU BETRAAAAAAYYYED MEEEEEEE!"

"I'M SORRRRYYYYY!" Bell screamed as he ram away.

**Disclaimer: None of this has actually happened.**

**AN: Well, yeah. I've started on the next chapter, but it still might be a bit before it's released. Remember, the discord code is ****jmmXCHb. Hope to see you next time!**


	12. Important Announcement

**AN: Hey guys, this is more of an announcement (again). But don't shoot me, the next chapter is up and ready to go, just not in the way you would expect.**

**After reading it again and some comments from others, I have decided that we're getting a re-write! But just be warned. The other version is M-rated, not for sexual stuff, but for some very, very disturbing stuff. So be warned.**

**On the other hand, I gave it a look and it's much better!**

**In my opinion, of course.**

**The discord code is: czFejhn. Remember that!**

**Cya in my new fanfic.**


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